Dark Reflection
by Jeva
Summary: [On Hold]'The peace seemed surreal and false.' AC 199: the Gundam pilots are sought out for the testing of new Mobile Suits. Mistaken intentions force the five young men to make the right decision of whether or not they will aid their allies...or enemies.
1. Exiled Silence

_Author's notes:_ *yawns and blinks* Oh...sorry ^.^" I just finished fixing this thing up at 3:30AM CST. *rubs head* My head really hurts..._anyway_! This is my first Gundam Wing fanfic! ^.^" Yes, I am very proud of myself! My third mutli-chapter fic that I may never finish! Whoo-hoo! Actually, I REALLY do plan on finishing this story! This first chapter took FORTY-TWO pages to write on paper O_O DANG! And so far, I have EIGHTY pages of the fic written on paper already *smacks forehead* oy...I really don't know why I got started but I did. Oh, well. Hopefully this will turn out to be very, very good...even if a bit cheesy ^.^ My lil sis helped me a lot with this fic so I really want to thank her lots for her help, though I'm guessing she wants to tease me about how I spelt 'shuttle' in my rough-copy of this chapter. -_-''' Ah, well...someone pass the crackers and wine! We're gonna need some, this thing is so cheesy! ^.^"  
  
_Disclaimer:_ I, in no way imaginable, own Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Zechs, Noin, Lady Une, Hilde, Relena, Trieze(*pokes the name* aren't you dead? ...), or whoever is the Hell is in Gundam Wing(even though already DEAD people aren't in my fic! *pointed look at Trieze, who marches off, grumbling*). I do not wish to get sued, so I repeat myself...I own NO ONE!(...well, maybe Zechs ^.^")  
  
_Notes:_

_emphasis/news/foreign language_  
**letter**  
**HEADLINE**  


* * *

  
  
  
  
**  
_Exiled Silence_**

  
  
  
  
  
After Colony 197: the age of Mobile Suits is at an end. To the people, this was a great relief and a near miracle; peace was once again known. To all who fought in the horrible battles, the peace seemed surreal and false. Old fears became known, and the former soldiers were wary. They did not fear attacks from Gundams, for all but one had been destroyed and even that one that had survived was a mere wreckage; a relic of the times of harships and turmoil.  
  
There had been five pilots and yet none had come forward and revealed themselves. They did, however, keep appearances in newspapers and speculation. Many people who had been in the war would talk of the possibilities of there being real pilots; others wondered at who they had been. Relena Darlian, who had been rumored to have known the pilots in the war, denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.  
  
"I do not know who they are or where they have gone," she said when interviewed, "but wherever they are, I hope that their lives are peaceful and that they never have to worry about being used as weapons anymore."  
  
For two years, the pilots did just that in their own way...  
  
  
  
  
  
AC 199:  
  
"Are you kidding me?" a nineteen-year-old teenager demanded with a smirk. "This is _too_ easy."  
  
"It's the hardest thing I can think of," another boy said with indignance. The first boy laughed, waving a hand dismissively as he stood.  
  
"You don't know how easy this'll be," the first said, facing the second and making his long braid of hair whip about his shoulders. The second one, looking insulted that someone dared to say his ideas were 'too easy,' crossed his arms with an annoyed look on his face.  
  
"I don't suppose _you_ have a better idea?" he asked the first, who looked thoughtful for a moment before chuckling.  
  
"Actually, I don't--"  
  
"Then shut up!" The second glared at the first. The braided-haired boy held up his hands in a sign of surrender and peace.  
  
"Okay, okay. I'll stop, but it is easier than some of the other things I've done," he said, the laughter still in his voice. "I mean, getting my friend Heero to talk must have been next to impossible comparing it with this."  
  
The second threw a pillow at his friend. "Shut up, will ya?"  
  
"Aw!" exclaimed the other boy after he had dodged the thrown object. "But you _know_ she--"  
  
"She who?" another person asked, making the second blush furiously and the first to turn in their direction, grinning.  
  
"Hey, Noma!" the first said cheerfully while his friend hid himself with the pillow he had planned to throw at the braided-haired boy. "I got something to tell you!"  
  
Noma, the one who had spoke, looked curiously at the first boy as he almost bounced over. He whispered something in her ear, his grin never faltering as the girl listened, a look of surprise on her face. When he had finished, Noma looked uncertainly to the other boy, who peeked carefully around the pillow.  
  
"Is this true?" she asked him.  
  
The second boy looked hesitantly at the other boy, who nodded vigorously from behind Noma. "Yes?" he answered questioningly.  
  
The brunette smiled brightly, and the braided-haired boy gave a thumbs-up behind her. "Great," Noma said brightly. "Pick me up at seven, 'kay?"  
  
"Sure," he answered, dazedly.  
  
Noma smiled brightly again before scurrying off, out of the room. The braided-haired boy crossed his arms and gave his friend a smug look before asking, "Now whose idea was better?"  
  
"Wha--? You asked her?"  
  
"Mm...hm..." the first answered, studying his nails in a stuck-up manner. "I told you it was easy. Your idea of going through all of that trouble was too much."  
  
The other boy smiled in appreciation. "Thanks."  
  
"Don't thank me! I just wanna see you crash and bur--" The second pillow hit him square in the face.  
  
"Get out of here, Maxwell!" shouted the lighter- and shorter-haired teen. Maxwell smirked, catching the pillow as it fell from his face.  
  
"Fine, fine," he said, bouncing the pillow in his hands. "I can tell when I'm not wanted."  
  
He tossed the pillow back, but it was too fast for the other boy to block. The lighter-haired boy was hit in the face, causing him to fall off of the bed he had been sitting on with an "umph!" of surprise. Maxwell frowned, looking at his hands and arms.  
  
"Eh...guess I dunno my own strength," he said sheepishly.  
  
"Thanks, Duo," was the reply from behind the bed.  
  
"I didn't mean to!" objected the still-standing teen quickly. "Don't be so mean, Jack."  
  
"My name's _not_ Jack, Duo," the other teen gritted out as he sat himself up off of the ground.  
  
"You look like one." Duo shrugged.  
  
"I do not!"  
  
"Do, too!"  
  
"Do not!"  
  
"Do, too!"  
  
"Do not!  
  
"Do--hey! Nancy's undressing!" This made the other boy's head turn, and Duo made his escape, laughing to himself as 'Jack' cried out in outrage, having been tricked yet again by Duo Maxwell--the resident clown of pranks and jokes...who also happened to be Gundam pilot 02. The pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe.  
  
Three years since he had been inside the cockpit of his beloved Mobile Suit and he could have passed as one of the happiest young men his age. Two years since Relena Darlian's statement and the young former pilot was living his life in peace, attending a college in the North American country known as the United Stated of America.  
  
At least, that was what he and the people who knew him thought.  
  
Walking down the sidewalk, having been 'chased out' by his roommate, Duo whistled a small tune and scuffed his shoe against the ground. He'd long since forgotten the astonishment he felt when he could go a day just being idle. He had been used to having to be ready for everything and being able to not await or anticipate anything was something he took full advantage of.  
  
He just let his mind wander for a moment, thinking about his friends, school, the test coming up tomorrow--  
  
"Oh, man!" he exclaimed, halting mid-step. "I can't believe I forgot about it!"  
  
Grumbling to himself, he turned in place and set his foot down toward the direction of the Library only to hear a "Hey, stop!" just as someone rounded the corner on his left.  
  
"Hey! Hold it--!" he tried to say but was knocked over as the person slammed into him, staggering only for a moment before giving chase yet again. Duo merely stared, propped on his elbows.  
  
Two uniformed men ran after the person and only one of them stopped and looked at him. "You all right?"  
  
Duo blinked. "Eh...yeah. Just got a bit winded," he answered, sitting up. "What was--hey, wait!"  
  
Too late. The uniformed person ran in the direction his partner and the running person had gone. Standing up, the former Gundam pilot scratched his head, thinking.  
  
"Wonder what that was about," he muttered, barely recalling that the running person had been a boy his age in blue jeans and a blue tank-top.  
  
  
  
  
"Hey, stop!" one of the uniformed officers shouted, but that only made him pick up his speed. He was determined to keep away from anyone in those uniforms. He wouldn't be captured; he wouldn't be taken.  
  
He quickly swung around the corner and, just as he looked back to see if they were still on his tail, someone shouted, "Hey! Hold it--!" He barely had enough time to look up before he barreled passed the long-hair, black-outfitted person that had been the one shouting.  
  
'Don't think about it,' he told himself as part of him seemed to tell him that the person he had run into was someone familiar. He looked back once more and caught sight of the person on the ground, propping himself on his elbows as he stared dazedly.  
  
The face was impossibly to forget.  
  
'Duo...' He nearly stopped, but the sounds of the uniformed men kept him going. 'Can't stop. Have to lose them.'  
  
And so he did. The faster of the two stopped to make sure Duo was all right while the other continued to persue him. 'Too easy.'  
  
He ducked around another corner, heaved himself over the wall that made the corner, and froze as he landed in the corner, hidden by a bush. He held his breath, straining his ears as he listened.  
  
"Where'd he go?" the faster officer demanded as the boy heard footsteps running to where the other officer was.  
  
"He--I lost him," the second officer confessed. There was a moment of silence, so he strained harder to listen in. "Lady Une's not going to be happy, is she?"  
  
'Lady Une,' the boy thought, his curiosity piqued.  
  
"No. She wants pilots 01, 02, 03, and 04 at Headquarters before--"  
  
"Why'd you stop anyway?" the second interrupted, annoyed. The boy froze, listening and imagining the first person chuckling.  
  
"I found pilot 02," he answered smugly.  
  
The boy's breath caught in his throat. 'So...they recognized him,' he thought just as he calmed hismelf. 'Better warn him then.'  
  
Silently, he trailed the wall and headed in the direction pilot 02 was.  
  
  
  
  
"Eh, better stop thinking of it, Maxwell," Duo said to himself, walking up the steps of the building with his hands shoved in his pockets. "I mean, it's not like it was--"  
  
"Shinigami," a voice called from the young man's right. Duo looked over, blinking.  
  
"Wha?" he asked in confusion.  
  
Some bushes rustled; whoever was in them was coming closer. "_Shinigami_!" the familiar voice hissed.  
  
"Who's calling?" Duo cautiously replied, eyeing the bushes warily.  
  
Everything was quiet...  
  
"Took you long enough," the voice said from behind the former pilot of Deathscythe, who jumped and spun around, barely managing to contain his scream of surprise.  
  
"What do you think you're doing, sneaking up on me like that?!" the long-haired boy yelled loudly. "I could have--!"  
  
"I highly doubt it," the other boy replied, monotonous. Duo blinked for a moment before coming to a realization.  
  
"Hey...you're the guy that knocked me over," he said, and the other boy rolled his eyes.  
  
"Is that the only thing you remember, Maxwell?" he asked with gruff annoyance. Duo paused, studying him carefully.  
  
The boy's face was young, but the eyes spoke of horrors they had seen. Those were the very same that the former Gundam pilot known as Shinigami, the God of Death, saw everytime he looked in the mirror. The only difference was that there was no haunted expression, as if the boy had been used to seeing the horrors he had witnessed. Had been used to, or trained to ignore--  
  
Trained...  
  
Duo blinked, taking in the boy's other features. The dark hair was short, though some of it tried to hang in his eyes as if it was accusomed to doing that. It reminded Duo of someone, but he couldn't place his finger on it.  
  
"Uh..." he stated, still trying to place the person.  
  
The boy cocked an eyebrow, realizing that the braided-haired boy was having trouble identifying him. "Three years hasn't been long enough to change me very much."  
  
Duo fumed. "Well, if you knew me so well, how'd you recognize _me_?"  
  
The boy shrugged, arms now crossed. "Your face is slightly different, but your hair will always give you away," he answered simply.  
  
"Wish I could say the same," the long-haired boy muttered, becoming frustrated.  
  
The boy looked toward the steps of the Library cautiously. "We should continue this inside," he said, his eyes never leaving the courtyard.  
  
"Wanted man, huh?" Duo asked as they walked into the building. The other teen's eyes narrowed as he watched the entrance.  
  
"Not for any crime I've committed," he answered, his voice hard and void of any emotion.  
  
  
  
  
"When I joined this, I never said I'd go back into a Mobile Suit!" a uniformed young man shouted at a blonde woman. The young man looked to be of Chinese descent; his dark hair sleeked back into a small rat-tail, and his dark eyes narrowed in anger and outrage.  
  
"Lieutenant Chang," snapped the blonde woman, "if you do not control yourself, you'll be demoted back to a Private and will be _ordered_ into that cockpit!"  
  
"And I'm not being ordered now?!" demanded the Lieutenant angrily. "Damn it! I thought I made it _clear_ I wanted no part in your Mobile Suit testing!"  
  
"That you did, Chang," the woman replied, "however, you are the only one--"  
  
"Bullshit, woman! There are other capable pilots!" He slammed his hand on the desktop, eyes narrowing further. "Why--?!"  
  
"It is the Lady's orders--"  
  
"Une can go to Hell! I will _not_ pilot these monstrosities! You cannot force me!" Chang shouted, his fury being heard by those who were passing by the office.  
  
Now it was the woman's turn to narrow her eyes in anger. "Wufei, this is important. We need _your_ skills."  
  
"Get the other Gundam pilots," the boy said, never looking away.  
  
"We are rounding up the other as we speak. In fact," the woman said with a sort of smug expression, "the locations of pilots 01 and 02 have been confirmed."  
  
Chang looked stunned. "Yuy and Maxwell?" he asked, before his expression fell into one akin to horror. "You're insane! They'd never pilot!"  
  
"I'm afraid," the woman said, tossing something onto the deasktop, "that they will have very little choice."  
  
Chang Wufei could only stare at the newspaper that had the pictures of the two wanted pilots and the headline: **PREVENTERS SEEK GUNDAM PILOTS**.  
  
  
  
  
"So...give me a hint?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You've got to remember yourself."  
  
"...how 'bout now?"  
  
"No."  
  
Duo slammed his fists on the desk. "Damn it! Tell me who you are!"  
  
The other boy eyed the braided-haired boy dully before answering in an equally monotone, dull voice, "No."  
  
"Urgh!" Duo exclaimed, slamming his head to the desk. "Why torment me with the Guessing Game?"  
  
"Because you know who I am. You're just stopping yourself from coming to the answer," the boy answered and was about to say more when he noticed two uniformed men talking with the Head Librarian. "Shit. We have to move."  
  
"Huh?" Duo managed to get out before the boy grabbed his arm and pulled him into a run, alerting the soldiers to their presence.  
  
"Run faster!" the boy shouted at the other as they headed toward the older section of the Library.  
  
"What the Hell is going on?!" Duo demanded as a long _BANG_ sounded and some people screamed in terror.  
  
"Preventers," answered the boy. "They're after you and I both."  
  
"I didn't do anything!" A bulled wizzed passed his ear and embedded itself into the wood of a bookshelf.  
  
"You remember being a pilot?" the boy asked with a touch of sarcasm as they continued to run.  
  
"Yeah, but--"  
  
"They want the Gundam pilots," he continued, ducking around a bookshelf, followed by Duo. "I don't know why, but Une's determined to get us."  
  
"Us?" Duo questioned before something clicked. "Wait! Heero! You're Heero!"  
  
"Took you long enough," the boy known as Heero Yuy muttered gruffly as he sped passed two teenagers making out in a corner.  
  
"Well, excuse me, but you don't look like how you used to!" Duo shouted back in indignance as he caught up top his friend's side. "And you sound different, too!"  
  
Heero grunted. "I guess three years does change a lot," he said, seeming to be talking to himself.  
  
"So _why_ are we being chased?" Another bullet came close to hitting one of the two boys. "Do you have a gun?"  
  
Heero grunted again. "Lost it. They shot it out of my hands when I tried to shoot them down."  
  
"Une hasn't been slacking in the aiming department then," Duo commented dryly as another bullet graze his braid. "Hey!"  
  
"Just concentrate on running, _Shinigami_," Heero said, grabbing his friend by the arm and swinging him down an aisle of bookshelves filled with people before turning down it as well, a bullet hitting the bookshelf as he went. Duo, who had stopped amongst the people, grabbed the former pilot of Wing Zero.  
  
"Are you _crazy_?! They can use these people as hostages!" he exclaimed, shaking the other boy.  
  
Heero shoved him away, eyes narrowed as he pulled something out of his pocket. "So can we."  
  
Duo stared, slack-jawed at the hand-held explosive that sat innocently in Heero's palm.  
  
  
  
  
"Where's Chang?" Lady Une demanded of the blonde woman who had spoke to the Chinese boy just minutes before. The blonde looked down, ashamed.  
  
"He escaped. Knocked five soldiers out before disappearing," she said and winced when the other woman slammed a hand against a panel.  
  
"I told you the Gundam pilots aren't enemies! You are not to use force aginst them! Who's in charge of this operation?!"  
  
"That would be me," a man spoke up from the other side of the room. Lady Une spun toward him, anger evident in her expression.  
  
"Who told you to threaten the Gundam pilots?" she demanded.  
  
"Threaten?" questioned the man quietly with confusion. Une did not believe his tone for a moment.  
  
"Guns? I have been informed that two Preventers were firing weapons in a college campus library where pilots 01 and 02 are," she said loudly.  
  
The man stood, a look of astonishment on his face. "Did they? I am sure I told them about fire-arms."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure you did--"  
  
"Lady Une! One of the pilots are holding people hostage in the library!" shouted one of the people at the counsels. Une went and leaned over the young man's shoulders.  
  
"Sounds like a stunt 01 would pull," she said, watching the data report. "What are his demands?"  
  
"He wishes to be able to escape freely without anyone following."  
  
"Grant it," Une said quickly before turning to the man. "Yout men drove Gundam pilot 01 to turn innocent college students into _hostages_!"  
  
"My men? I am not the one running the Preventers," the man countered quietly with an odd tone to his voice.  
  
Une fumed. "They were under _your_ orders--!"  
  
"Temper, temper," the man reprimanded with an eerily calm voice. "One would think one of your status would have more control over one's emotions."  
  
Une merely gave him an icy look before turning to the young man at the counsel. "Current status on the pilots?"  
  
"They're not moving!"  
  
  
  
  
"Uh, Heero..." Duo said, watching the hostages, who were all on the ground against the bookshelves. "Why aren't we escaping?"  
  
"They've got men outside," the shorter-haired boy said as if it was was well-known fact. Duo looked to Heero in surprise.  
  
"They do?" he asked in astonishment.  
  
Heero looked to him and answered, "They are giving themselves away. Can you hear them?"  
  
"Um...no," the braided-haired boy replied before looking to the officer who had a radio with him. At the moment, the officer was listening to the radio before suddenly turning to the two pilots.  
  
"Pilot 01," he said, getting Heero to look over to him, "Lady Une wishes to know why you will not take your conditions."  
  
"My conditions," the pilot told him coldly, "were that no one would follow us or threaten us as we exit the building. There are Preventer soldiers outside of the library and they are armed. I don't believe that qualifies as coming to my demands."  
  
The soldier looked surprised but consulted his radio.  
  
"Jeez...how can you _hear_ that there was people out there?" Duo asked in a low voice.  
  
"Where do you think?" Heero asked blankly.  
  
"Oh..." Duo scratched his had, not really understanding why his friend was making everything difficult.  
  
"Pilot 01," the soldier called, gaining the pilots' attention, "the lady has ordered the soldiers to throw down their weapons. They will not try to harm you."  
  
"Tell your Lady," Heero responded, "that she has my thanks."  
  
Just as the boy said this, he pressed a button on the hand-held explosive and it began to beep. The hostages cried out in alarm, and Duo tried to stop Heero from tossing it but failed. The small object was flung toward the soldiers, who were scrambling. When it hit, however, it didn't explode. Instead, the small 'explosive' released a white fog that encased the aisle and then the library.  
  
"Come on," Heero said, pulling Duo out of the aisle.  
  
"Wha--?" Duo asked, still shocked that the explosive hadn't been an actual explosive. "A bluff?"  
  
"Of course," the former pilot of Wing Zero said gruffly. "I swore off killing."  
  
"Oh."  
  
And so, the two former Gundam pilots escaped the grasp of the Preventers, though Heero felt as though there was something admist. He was proven correct when Duo lead them to his dormroom.  
  
"Jack should be out, so there's nothing to worry about," Duo assured his friend as he used a key to open the door, only to freeze when he saw that his roommate and his now-girlfriend was in there.  
  
"Duo!" Jack exclaimed, standing to his feet. "What the Hell is going on?"  
  
The Gundam pilot looked confused at the question. Jack couldn't have heard about the Library Incident yet... "What do you mean?"  
  
Noma stood from her seat and came over, holding out a rolled up paper to him. Duo blinked but took the newspaper and unrolled it. He nearly dropped it when he saw his own cheerful visage staring back at him in black and white ink.  
  
"So that's it then," Heero's voice said from the long-haired boy's left, "we're wanted men. We can no longer live in peace."  
  
Duo's grasp on the paper tighteneed as anger welled up inside him. "Damn them. Damn them all!" he shouted before throwing the horrifying object to the ground. "Why can we be left alone?! Haven't we paid for our crimes by nearly getting ourselves killed to achieve this peace?! Damn them all to Hell!"  
  
Jack and Noma looked stunned at the young man's small speech, almost disbelieving that their usual care-free friend could become so angry, so upset. "Duo..." Jack tried to say, but Duo brushed him off.  
  
"I've got to leave," he said, looking away. "I can't stay here anymore."  
  
Jack nodded numbly. "We've already packed your clothes--"  
  
"And all of your things," Noma added, turning to lift a duffle bag that was big enough to fit everything.  
  
Duo looked up at his friends and smiled, though it looked strained. "You guys are the best. Good luck with the relationship and be sure to send me an invite." He winked.  
  
Jack chuckled. "Sure thing, Duo."  
  
The pilot nodded and took the duffle bag. "I'll see you guys some day," he said before turning back toward the door and Heero. "Come on. let's get going."  
  
Heero nodded and also turned to leave but paused when Noma called, "Take care of Duo for us, Heero Yuy!"  
  
For a moment, the mask that Heero had become accustomed to fell and he nodded. He could feel the couple's pain, having to watch their good friend be chased out into exile. It also hurt to see Duo become so saddened by having to say an impromptu goodbye. For just a second, Heero's expression told the innocent couple that he understood their pain before the mask was on again and he left.  
  
  
  
  
"Forgive me, Lady, it shall not happen again," a soldier said with a bow. Lady Une gave him a look of disgust as he stayed bent in a form of respect, though the term was questionable in this instance.  
  
"You're lucky I didn't have you court-marsheled," she said coldly, turning her back to him. "Get out of my sight."  
  
"Yes, my Lady." The man scurried off and the woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache coming on.  
  
"You know, you should have listened to my objections," another feminine voice said, causing Une to turned and see Sally Po leaning against the doorway.  
  
"Come in or get out, General. I am in no mood for games."  
  
Sally came into the office and shut the door before replying, "Nor am I. I'm worried about pilots 01 and 02. If Sklavenka hadn't--"  
  
"Well, she did," the other woman snapped irritably, "and I was a fool for leaving her in second command--no. I was foolish for putting Sloh _in_ command!"  
  
"I have to admit, I agree," the Chinese woman said bluntly, "but we can't dwell on that. Right now, the pilots consider us enemies--"  
  
"Perhaps we are," Lady Une interrupted quietly. "They are too determined to keep the peace they've created for themselves, and yet we are trying to put them in a place that makes them remember the war. Those Mobile Suit cockpits."  
  
Sally Po was quiet for a moment before replying, equally quietly, "Something is brewing...and soon the Gundam pilots won't have any choice...unless they want to see everything fall apart."  
  
  
  
  
The crowd cheered loudly as the two acrobats took their final bows. It had been a wonderful night for the group of entertainers. They had sold all of their tickets, had made all the customers enjoy their stay, and they even managed to pull off their 'Death-Defying Dance' as the Finale. All of them smiled brightly at their success.  
  
All but one.  
  
"Wave a bit," the female acrobat said, nudging her partner, who had been the one to truly defy Death in the Finale. The young man, who no longer wore a mask in his performances, merely looked at her before raising a hand in the air, making the ladies in the stands scream louder.  
  
His partner giggled at the reaction.  
  
"And now!" shouted the Ringleader as he bounded over to the duo of performers. "We must bid you all farewell! Have a safe trip and happy hunting!"  
  
With that, there was a puff of smoke and, with it concealing their movements, the trio headed toward the back of the tent where their trailors were. The girl was a bubble of excitement as she continued to speak of the 'great, marvelous, stupendous' show they had performed. The Ringleader chuckled heartily while the young man remained silent, thinking of the uncomfortable feeling he was getting.   
  
The pull of his arm made him realize someone had latched onto it, and he looked down to see his sister holding it captive in her hug-like grasp. "Come on, Trowa. Give me a smile. I know you had fun," she said mischievously.  
  
Inwardly, Trowa was chuckling at her behavior; outwardly, his expression remained the same: stoic and emtionless. "It was entertaining," he said simply, his usual soft voice almost lost to his sister, who eyes him critically.  
  
"Well, _I_ thought it was positively _magnificent_!" she said, grinning at him. For just a moment, the passive expression on his face tried to pull itself into a smile. His sister saw, laughed, and hugged him.  
  
"Oh, we'll make you a human yet!" she exclaimed brightly, making Trowa shake his head in his way of showing amusement. He stopped, however, as his ear caught the sound of conversation.  
  
"...in the newspaper. They were just _kids_!"  
  
"Ai. 'Tis a sad times when the innocent are forced ta fight the corrupted battle."  
  
Intrigued by this statement, the young acrobat detached himself from his sister's embrace and went over to where the two elder men were, leaving the girl confused and calling out his name.  
  
Trowa ignored it and came up from behind the first man, who was just saying, "...of what sort of horrifying sights they must've seen--"  
  
"Pardon me," he spoke up, interrupting the elder man, "but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. What was it that was in the newspaper?"  
  
"'Twas a headline," answered the other man, who held a pipe between his teeth and spoke through the side of his mouth. "Them Preventers are looking fer two of them Gundam pilots."  
  
"Pilots, huh?" Trowa murmured quietly, quickly keeping his face schooled into a mask of small interest.  
  
The pipe-man nodded. "Them Preventers want them fer summating. Rumor has it that them Preventers have new Gundams built in them buildings of theirs."  
  
"Gundams?"  
  
"Ai. Here. Have a look-see," the man said, handing the younger man a newspaper clipping that had the headline screaming, **PILOTS 01 AND 02 OF GUNDAMS REVEALED** and **PREVENTERS SEEK GUNDAM PILOTS**.  
  
Just looking at the pictures of his comrades under those captions made the boy's stomach clench. If they were after Heero and Duo, it wouldn't be long before they went after him as well.  
  
"Well, boy?" questioned the other man, causing Trowa to look up. "Recognize them or something?"  
  
Trowa looked back down at the pictures; Duo's grinning, happy-go-lucky face as well as Heero's mild glare at whoever was taking the photo. "I'm afraid not. It's just a shock at how young they were."  
  
The pipe-man nodded. "Ai, that's what got us all. We all are 'shamed fer thinking that them pilots were men that shoulda known better than ta start a war. Them boys...them were too young ta know better."  
  
The tall former pilot of the Gundam Heavyarms silently nodded before quietly muttering, "Indeed they were...at one point."  
  
  
  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this," muttered Duo as he and Heero crouched behind a luggage cart, watching as security idly stood on the landing platform, waiting for the shuttle to come.  
  
"You stole a Gundam and just held at least twenty people hostage--"  
  
"That second one was you, Pal." The long-haired boy looked to his friend and continued with a bit of a grin. "besides, the Doc told me to steal it."  
  
"Hn," was the grunted reply, making Duo's expression fall.  
  
"Why I hang around you, I'll never know," he muttered to himself before Heero tensed beside him. "What?"  
  
"I didn't know whose shuttle that was," the former terrorist answered quietly. Duo gave him an odd look which he didn't acknowledge.  
  
"Whose is it?" the braided-hair boy questioned.  
  
Heero was silent for a moment before he spoke, his eyes never leaving the descending shuttle, "Relena..."  
  
  
  
  
"It's tragic news. To learn that these poor boys are being hunted like dogs," one of the men accompanying Relena Darlian said quietly as they watched the newest news flash. The young woman didn't reply and merely watched the screen where the two Gundam pilots' faces were frozen.  
  
"_...whereabouts. Preventer Leader Lady Une claims that she had no intention of using fire-arms against the young pilots and that such acts were made by men under Major Sloh's command. Continuous--_"  
  
Another man, this one much older than the other turned off the televsion. "This is all too depressing. It sounds like the Crusades, only the Gundam pilots are the prize," he said gruffly, glaring at the innocent-looking television.  
  
"Please, Senator," Relena spoke up, "do not refer to them that way."  
  
"That is what they are in the eyes of the military," the old Senator responded sharply. "First section that finds them, gains more power over the rest. War will ensue--"  
  
"The pilots will not get caught," the young woman said, equally sharp with a command in her voice. "They are trained terrorists--"  
  
"How is it that you know this?" the younger man questioned quizzically.  
  
Relena gave him a small smile. "Because...one promised to kill me once."  
  
This confused the men greatly.   
  
  
  
  
"Oh..." Duo said with a smirk. "Your...'lady-friend's' up there, huh?"  
  
Heero didn't reply.  
  
"So..." Duo looked back to the shuttle. "Doesn't that make this easier?"  
  
"No," was the short reply.  
  
"Oh," was the only thing he could think of to say.  
  
The two stayed crouched behind the luggage cart, watching the sleek, white shuttle land and then slowly lower its loading ramp. Dup wasn't sure, but it seemed as thought Heero was holding his breath. Why the other pilot would do such a thing left the boy confused and bewildered.  
  
"Come on," Heero said suddenly before springing up and over the cart. Duo watched with surprise as the other teen sprinted toward security and then took one of them out with a jump-kick to the neck.  
  
"Hey! Wait up!" the still-hidden boy shouted, following Heero's lead as he took down the second security guard.  
  
"Forget about them!" Heero called. "Make for the shuttle!"  
  
"Go it!" Duo shouted back as he sped toward the loading ramp, where the three occupants stood, watching with awe at the sight of the two boys.  
  
"Trained terrorists..." murmured the elder man while Relena smiled.  
  
Heero, however, quickly relieved the two uncoscious men of their weapons just as two more arrived on the platform. He fired a couple of rounds of each gun, aiming only at the legs and arms, before he shouted, "Duo!"  
  
The running pilot skidded to a stop as a gun came sailing his way. He quickly jumped and caught it, grinning as he patted the barrel. "Been a while," he said and nearly forgot about the shuttle until Heero passed him, firing bullet after bullet at the massing guards.  
  
"Get moving, Maxwell!" he shouted, shooting an elder guard in the knee. Just as the man cried out in pain, Duo started his running once more, reaching the loading ramp before his friend.  
  
The younger man jerked a hand into his jacket, and the young terrorist aimed his weapon at him. "Whoa there, Buddy," he said, a grin on his face. "Hands out where I can see them."  
  
The man quickly did as asked, and the other man tried his chance to get his weapon. Duo was the quicker thinker, however. "If you want me to kill your friend, I suggest you keep on doing what you're doing."  
  
The man froze, a startled look on his face. Duo gave him another grin. "Okay, now get your gun and his and toss them to me, one at a time."  
  
The elder man was forced to comply and soon the Gundam pilot possessed three weapons: one tucked into his belt and the other two in his hands. "All right. Back in the shuttle," the teenager commanded, gesturing to the entrance.  
  
Both men headed in, but Relena stayed. Duo tossed her a wink. "Long time no see, Princess."  
  
Relena returned his wink with a smile. "Former Queen, please."  
  
Duo chuckled. "Forgive me. My memory's been suffering as of the late," he responded kindly before turning to the landing platform and shouting, "Oi! Hurry it up, Heero!"  
  
Just as he called for his friend, the young man jumped the railing on the ramp and turned to fire at the men on the platform. "Get up there," he told the other pilot who nodded and gestured for Relena to enter before following.  
  
Heero followed him soon after, shutting the shuttle's door behind him. He stayed there for a moment, catching his breath before he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly spun toward the person, aiming the weapon at their face.  
  
"Whoa!" Duo shouted in alarm as the other boy began to pull the trigger. "Hold it, Heero!"  
  
Heero froze, the adrenaline flushing out of his system. He quickly realized what he had nearly done and was shaken by how close it had been. He didn't move, however, and neither did Duo, who looked shocked as well.  
  
"Heero..." The boy lowered the fire-arm quickly, looking away. He knew how horrified the two men and Relena were by his actions.  
  
"Go pilot the shuttle, Duo," he said, his voice giving the image of calm and emotionlessness when, in fact, the boy had scared himself slightly.  
  
He waited a moment, expecting the longer-haired boy to go; but when he didn't, Heero quickly aimed the gun at the other boy's head again. He didn't look up to see Duo's reaction. If he would have, he would have seen that the other boy was slightly concerned and slightly shocked at his actions.  
  
"Go. Pilot. The shuttle," Heero gritted out.  
  
For a moment, Duo almost went but didn't.  
  
"Maxwell!" Heero snapped, looked at him. "I _will_ shoot. Don't test me."  
  
Duo gave a small snort of laughter, falling back into his 'easy-going' state. "You wouldn't kill me."  
  
"No," Heero replied, his voice dry, "but you'd be surprise at what you can live through."  
  
Both were quiet for a moment, staring at one another while the three now-hostages waited for something to happen. No one moved.  
  
Then Duo cocked his head to the side. "Ya know...this seems familiar."  
  
The armed teenager then followed his friend's example and cocked his head slightly to the side. "One of the times you were captured," he answered, sure of himself.  
  
Duo blinked and looked thoughtful before laughing. "Oh, yeah! I remember!" He continued to chuckle for a moment before taking the barrel of the gun and shoving it downward. "Now if you'll excuse me. I have a shuttle to pilot."  
  
With that, the long-haired pilot left the passenger area and headed for the shuttle's controls. Heero stood there for a second, wondering how the other boy had managed to diffuse the situation so easily. When he couldn't figure it out, he lowered the weapon to his side and looked to his hostages.  
  
"Hn," he grunted, sitting down.  
  
Eventually the others followed his example.  
  
"Welcome to Duo Airlines!" a bright, cheerful voice chirped over the intercom. "I would like to thank you all for not screaming as me and my friend took you as our hostages--"  
  
Heero looked toward the captain's cabin and called, "You're not out of range, Maxwell!"  
  
"Eh?" the voice said on the intercom as Duo understood the implications. The door slid shut.  
  
  
  
  
"Damn it! What the Hell are they doing?!" Lady Une shouted, hearing the news of the shuttle. Sally Po calmly watched everything from the far wall, waiting for the outcome of the situation.  
  
"Seventeen injured. No casualties," one of the men at the counsels called, and Une shut her eyes, sighing.  
  
"At least 01 hasn't killed anyone," she said in relief and turned to a woman with a set of headphones on her head. "Where is their destination?"  
  
The other woman consulted her computer before answering, "L3 Colony."  
  
  
  
  
"What's the matter, Trowa? You're quiet but not this quiet." Trowa turned his head to see his sister squatted down next to him. He watched her silently for a moment before looking away.  
  
"It's nothing to concern you with, Cathy," he told her and waited for the expected reaction.  
  
"Trowa Barton! You are lying to me! Look me in the face and tell me it doesn't concern me in any way!" she shouted angrily, frustrated with the younger boy, who turned to her and watched her steadily.  
  
"If I told you I had to leave," he began slowly, "would you let me go?"  
  
Catherine stared at him before shaking her head. "No, of course I wouldn't! Trowa...you're my brother, and I don't want you to go away again. After what happened four years ago--"  
  
"That was a mistake on my part," the boy interrupted, his tone cold. "Don't blame Quatre for any of it. He wasn't in control."  
  
"Still!" Catherine exclaimed, her eyes quickly becoming moist and glossy. "I don't want you to be in trouble! I don't want you to go!"  
  
Trowa's eyes softened slightly and he quickly pulled his sister to him, letting her cry against him. He knew very well why she was upset. She hated what had happened to him; hated how it made him a soldier, though he was still a long way from being the 'perfect soldier' like Heero Yuy. He himself wanted to stay at the circus and live his life in peace, but there couldn't be peace for him if he was being hunted.  
  
"I won't go," he told her, "unless I hear that the Preventers are beginning to seek me out and not just Heero and Duo. I'm not safe to be around and I don't want you or anyone else to be hurt because of me."  
  
"Trowa..." Catherine said tearfully, pulling him closer to her. The young pilot merely looked at her before he tried to calm her by rubbing her back. His face didn't show it, but his eyes told how saddened he was that everything had come to this.  
  
  
  
  
"L3 Colony, huh?" Duo asked his partner-in-crime, who had just entered the pilot's cabin. "Why exactly did you want to head there?"  
  
Heero didn't answer for a moment and merely sat in the co-pilot's seat before answering, "Trowa's on L3. He must have heard the news and is getting ready to leave. We'll join up with him and try somewhere else to hide."  
  
Duo nodded at the sensible answer. "Sounds good. What about Wufei and Quatre?"  
  
"Wufei's already in hiding,. He probably heard the Preventers wanting Gundam pilots first," the shorter-haired boy said, watching as the Colony came closer. "Quatre has his Arabian friends that will help him hide like he did during the war."  
  
Again the former pilot of Deathscythe nodded before pausing. "Wait...how are we going to get into the Colony?"  
  
Heero's eyes narrowed and a wisp of a smirk appeared on his face. "Just how you think. Fly in. No stopping."  
  
Duo watched him for a moment before grinning and turning back to the controls. "Better tell our friends in the back to buckle up. This is going to be a Hell of a ride."  
  
Heero nodded once, stood and entered the cabin, the door swishing shut behind him. The three political representatives looked up curiously at him. Two of the three had an expression of wariness, while the last merely watched the young terrorist who eyed them all suspiciously.  
  
"Strap into your seats," he told them, seating himself in a seat that faced them. "We're going in hard."  
  
"In?" asked the younger man of the hostages, confused as the hijacker and the other two hostages pulled their safety belts on. "In where?"  
  
Heero looked up and simply answered, "We're entering the L3 Colony."  
  
The younger politician's mouth formed an 'O' as he quickly pulled the safety belt around him. Heero chuckled silently for a moment before he heard a, "Mr. Yuy?"  
  
He looked over, saw who had addressed him, and nearly allowed his face to fall into the 'deer-caught-in-headlights' look. A much more mature and sophisticated Relena Darlian watched him carefully as he stared at her. Comparing himself to her, the young pilot felt filthy and unkempt.  
  
"Yes?" he responded gruffly, as he recovered from his pause.  
  
"Mr. Yuy...why are you trying to hide yourself?" the young woman asked calmly. The two male politicians looked uncertainly at her as their captor's face fell into an expression of indifference.  
  
"None of the Gundam pilots want to be part of the Preventers' military edge," he answered, eyes narrowing. "All we wanted was peace."  
  
Relena wasn't fazed by the hard glare directed at her and merely asked, "And that is why you hide?"  
  
"What else does one do when they do not wish to be found?" he questioned and waited for an answer.  
  
"Heero--"  
  
"You sound as if you know me, Ms. Darlian," he remarked suddenly, suprising the two other men, "yet I do not remember encountering you before."  
  
Relena bit her tongue and sighed. "Mr. Yuy, what do you plan to do with us?"  
  
Heero rose an eyebrow and replied, monotonously, "If we must, we'll have to kill you."  
  
A disquieting silence fell upon the captives. "You wouldn't," the youngest barely whispered.  
  
Their captor looked passively at the men and then back at her. "I may not kill anymore, but I am not so sure about the others. 03 or 05 might have a twitch in their trigger finger."  
  
Relena could only stare at him in disbelief.  
  
"We're coming up to the entrance," Duo's voice said from the loudspeaker. "If anyone's hurt, it's Heero's fault. I told him to get you guys secured."  
  
Heero smirked, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed. He didn't know where they would go from here, but he knew one thing, if anything:  
  
He would not be captured.  
  
  
  
  
Trowa quietly walked down an empty alley that led away from the circus tent, a dufflebag slung over his shoulder. He turned one last time to look at his home of four years. He couldn't consider it his home when there had been war. Space and the earth had been his home then, and now they were calling for him to return.  
  
"My home is turned into my battlefield and enemy," he said aloud, chuckling slightly. "How ironic."  
  
With that, he turned back in the direction he had been headed in, not looking back. When he walked into the open, where people walked ungurriedly down the 'walks, a terrible wailing erupted from all around. Everyone stopped and looked around in fear. Trowa looked to the entrance of the Colony and saw why the alarms were standing.  
  
A shuttle had somehow forced its way into the Colony.  
  
"We're being invaded!" a foolish man cried, and the crowd erupted with screams of terror. They all ran toward their designated safe-house, shoving each other to get there. Trowa just moved aside whenever a person came close to hitting him. He never ran.  
  
"Who would be crazy enough to pull this stunt?" he mused as the last few people abandoned the streets, leaving him as the only one standing there.  
  
The answer came to him as the shuttle landed/crashed into the nearest intersection. The people who were in cars skidded to a stop and caused a large pile-up. Trowa continued to watch as the loading ramp fell and a figure dropped to the ground, two weapons in his hands and a braid following him from behind. The acrobat silently chuckled once more.  
  
"I should have known," he said to himself, adjusting his duffle. "Only Duo."  
  
He walked quietly, seeing that everyone had abandoned their cars and ran for cover and shelter. He continued to watch the scene with amusement as a second armed figure led three people down the ramp. The figure quickly pulled a second gun from his belt and aimed it at the approaching boy.  
  
"You'd better stay where you are, if you know what's good for you," the figure called to him. Duo, who had his two fire-arms aimed at the three people, looked to the new arrival, who was hidden partial by shadows, and aimed one of the guns in his direction.  
  
"Okay, Pal, out into the light," the braided-haired pilot called and Trowa complied, walking forward.  
  
"This is a nice way of greeting one of your friends, Heero, Duo," he said, a bit of humor in his voice.  
  
Duo lowered the weapon and sighed. "You always do that. Next time say something, will ya?"  
  
"I will if there's no gun trained on me," Trowa replied as he continued to come closer. "Hijacking? Duo, that's not your style."  
  
"Nah, that's why I stole the shuttle and Heero did the kidnapping," the other boy replied with a grin. Trowa's lips tipped into a small smile, something that seemed natural to do while around his fellow pilots.  
  
"And was it coincidence that you've captured the former Queen of the World?" the former pilot of Heavyarms asked curiously, studying the young woman who seemed small compared to his tall frame.  
  
"Let's get a move on," Heero's gruff voice said as the boy arrived next to his captives. He looked to Trowa and asked, "Are you coming?"  
  
"Where else is there to go?" Trowa shrugged. "It won't be long before they come looking for me, will it?"  
  
Duo shrugged. "I have no clue. Hell, I have no idea why they would want us in the first place."  
  
Trowa rose an eyebrow which was hidden by his long bang. "You didn't even read the newspaper?" he asked.  
  
"Mr. Brilliant here had to bluff his way out of a college library to get away from the authorities. Do you _think_ we had _time_ to look?"   
  
Trowa frowned. "I heard from--"  
  
"Trowa. Duo. Walk. Now," Heero ordered, being the only one who seemed to remember their situation. The other two boys looked to each other before complying.  
  
"I know somewhere we can go until we find another shuttle," Trowa spoke up as they paused in a deep alley. "I was just heading there."  
  
"Wait a minute," the young male politician objected, "just who are you?"  
  
Trowa looked to him, a curious expression on his face. "No picture of me in the news yet? I'm disappointed," he chuckled lightly. "I'm Pilot 03, the pilot of the Gundam Heavyarms."  
  
The man's face went white and he said nothing more, so Trowa continued, "The shelter's just this way."  
  
  
  
  
Catherine awoke when she thought she heard a thump in the hall of the trailer. For a long while, she lied there, half-awake and half-asleep. Finally, realizing she couldn't go to sleep, she sat up and tiredly stood and went to the kitchen. When she got there, however, she froze. Something was missing...  
  
Trowa!  
  
With a cry of anguish, the young performer ran back to her brother's room, slammed his door open, and stared. Tears started to fill her eyes as she studied the near-empty room. Everything was gone. The dressers were empty, the desktops vacant...the only thing that she saw that was out-of-place was a flier of the circus on the bed.  
  
Slowly, she approached the bed, sat upon it, and reached for the flier, her hand shaking as she picked it up. She turned it over and there, on the back of the advertisement, was Trowa's neat scrawl.  
  
**I am sorry for having to leave, Catherine, but I know it was the right thing to do. The Preventers want the Gundam pilots to pilot Mobile Suits, possibly even Gundams. I cannot allow myself to be forced into a cockpit.   
  
I once piloted the Gundam for my own reason, but then my own reason become the world's. I took the name of the real pilot and am still identified with his name. Since the end of the war against Oz, Romefeller, White Fang--it is hard to remember who the enemy was--I have wanted nothing but peace. Trieze Kushrenada's daughter Mariemaia, the niece of the man of whose name I've stolen, prevented me from continuing my peaceful life.  
  
Three years later, I've lived in peace and loved every moment, but yet again, I sense war is on the horizon. Space is calling for the Gundams to return. Yet they cannot. Only Wing Zero is left and it is almost completely destroyed.  
  
I must answer my calling, sister, and I must prevent myself from being caught by my enemies--if they truly are my enemies. I hope you can forgive me, but I have told you I was not safe. Perhaps if I were No-Name once more, I would be.  
  
Pray for me and the others, if you feel the need; but please, Catherine, do not follow.  
  
_Tout mon amour,   
  
votre frère_**  
  
Catherine sobbed as she read the closing. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she placed her finger where it said '_votre frère_.' He hadn't used his stolen name...  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
_Author's Notes:_ *yawns again and blinks* Hm? Why do I have to do closing notes? This is really stupid. Get one of the Pilots to do it *falls asleep* Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........*is poked at by someone and wakes up* Oh, fine. Be mean! Anyway, I have to say that I really like writing this story and YES! I DO have an explanation for EVERYTHING that occurred in this chapter. Including the part where Duo couldn't guess who Heero was. *glare at people who were going to ask*  
  
*blinks* Oh, yeah...the last bit of the letter by Trowa is in French, meaning "All my love, your brother." Now this doesn't mean brother literally. Keep that in mind for now. Trowa is NOT Catherine's brother...erm...well...I can't really say that...URGH! Just ignore everything from the translation on, all right?  
  
Oy...I've been listening to _White Reflection_ for four hours(guess about the title of the fic ^.^) *shrugs* Oh, well...I'm a major fan, so it doesn't bother me. Maybe I learned the words by having it go over and over. You know, learning subconsciously? Anyway...I think I'll leave you all on this note! ^.^ Hope you tune in next time! ^.^ Ja ne! ^.~ 


	2. Uncontrolled Fear

_Author's Notes:_ Eh, well...I guess the first chapter isn't much of a hit. And I don't think this one will be either ^.^" Maybe it's because I posted so late at night and the next day was 'flood day' -.- Why does that always happen to me? Anyway...this chapter starts off real fast, so I'm telling you know not to run away. There is a reason why it's so fast and I know some of this stuff might sound ridiculous, but it actually is a major part of the story. Pay close attention to what you're reading and be sure to remember all of the characters. You'll be wanting to know them all because some of them aren't quite what they appear. ^.^ Anyway...this thing was one page short of 40 pages on paper, but I think it's long enough, don't you? ^.^" Sorry for all grammar errors and what not, hopefully I go them all before I update this, but I doubt it. ^.^ Enjoy your read!! ^.^v  
  
_Disclaimer:_ Now, remember last time? Yeah, I said I didn't own anyone...well...I'M LYING! MUAHAHAHAHA! I own them all! (Gundam characters: O_O *runs away*) O.o WAH! *runs and tackles and character, huggling them* Don't run from me--*sees who is it* Eep! *runs away* (Wufei: -.-.......*gets up and chases me with his sword*) WAAAAAAAAAH! I don't own them! I DON'T OWN THEM! HELP! SOS! AHHHHH! *runs off*  
  
_Notes:_

_emphasis/news/foreign language_  
_memory_  
'vision'

* * *

  
  
  
  
**  
_Uncontrolled Fear_**

  
  
  
  
  
"_An update on the Gundam pilots: sources say that the two wanted pilots 01 and 02 have just recently hijacked a shuttle that carried Senator John Wilms, Representative Donald Davis, as well as Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian--_"  
  
"Eh..." Duo commented intelligently as the television went dark. "Never liked the news anyway."  
  
Trowa humored the other pilot with a nod as he looked over to the three captives. "I hope you three are comfortable," he said sincerely.  
  
The old Senator, John Wilms, gave the Gundam pilot a sour look. "What does our comfort matter? We're hostages!"  
  
Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Not in the sense that we want you harmed. You just were at the wrong place at the wrong time."  
  
"Yes, Mr. Barton," Relena broke in before the hot-headed Irishman could say anything. "You're positively right. In fact, our captors have been very courteous, if not a bit wordy." She gave a none-too-discreit look to Heero, who snorted and turned away.  
  
"I see," replied the tall boy. "Well, don't worry about Heero. He's only dangerous if you are his enemy."  
  
He gave them a sudden serious look. "I should hope that none of you are the enemy," he said, gaining frightened looks from the two men.  
  
"Ah, don't scare 'em, Trowa," a cheerful voice said as a certain long-haired teenager plopped himself on the ground next to the other boy. "None of them are enemies."  
  
"You're so sure, Duo?" Trowa asked with a fair bit of humor. Duo put his arms in the air, stretching, before letting the lower part of his arms fall behind his head as he studied the ceiling of the abandoned warehouse Trowa had led them into.  
  
"Maybe not about Junior there, but I like the old man and I can get along with Ms. Former Queen." He tossed a wink in Relena's direction.  
  
Trowa closed his eyes and "hm"ed with a slight smile. "For a minute there, you were worrying me."  
  
Duo chuckled with good humor and wittily replied, "No need to worry, my friend, I am completely and one hundred percent my usual sane self."  
  
"I suppose that means we need to alert an asylum?" Trowa questioned, opening an eye and cocking the eyebrow above it.  
  
The other boy nodded but paused. "Wait a second...Trowa!"  
  
The former circus acrobat stood and looked to the captives. "I'm going to speak with Heero for a moment. Duo'll look after you for that time." He looked to the muttering American and asked, "Or should I tell them to look after you?"  
  
Duo scowled. "Okay, clown boy, buzz off before I get Shinigami on your tail."  
  
Trowa looked intrigued by the threat and merely replied, "I'm shaking," before walking off and over toward the silently brooding Japanese boy.  
  
"What is it that you want, Trowa?" Heero asked, not turning to greet him. The tall pilot sat himself nect to the other boy, never looking over to him.  
  
"Just a moment of your time," he answered, looking out the small window that revealed the false night of the Colony. "It's been a while since we've met."  
  
"Hn," was the quiet reply.  
  
Trowa's eyes flicked to the dark form beside him before returning to the window. "Duo's informed me about what you two've been through."  
  
"Did he?" Heero asked, his voice strangely quiet and breathy. The third pilot frowned but made no comment.  
  
"Yes. I have to say that I'm still confused about all of this. Lady Une and Sally Po are both Preventers and they would never betray us," he said, quickly becoming aware of an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. "i think what we're seeing is a faction of the Preventers breaking away from the main group. They may be the ones that want us injured or killed."  
  
There was a pause and Trowa heard something. Brow furrowing, he looked toward Heero, asking with concern, "What is--?"  
  
He was shocked to find a barrel of a gun aimed at his head, shaking ever so slightly. It took him a moment to precess this but, as he did, Trowa looked at the other boy's face as if he was trying to find the answer to his question.  
  
"Heero," he said, calmly. "Heero...lower the weapon."  
  
The other Gundam pilot looked as though he was suppressing a wince as the gun shook harder in his grasp and he replied, "I...can't..."  
  
"Heero," Trowa said, this time more urgently as the other boy's finger began to pull the trigger back. "Heero! Drop the gun!"  
  
"I can't!" Heero shouted back, forgetting everything he had ever learned from his experiences as a soldier and the lessons from Doctor J. For that small moment of time, Heero Yuy was shown what true fear was.  
  
"Heero!" Trowa shouted a split-second before something slammed into the other boy from behind, making the bullet fly free, haphazardly out the window.   
  
Trowa stared at the space before him in disbelief. That hadn't been Heero. That wasn't--  
  
A scuffle brought his mind to the present just in time for him to whip his head around and see Duo be punched in the jaw by Heero, who quickly leapt to his feet now that the braided-haired boy was off of him. Heero began to sprint to his gun, but Trowa beat him to it by leaping into the air, somersaulting, and landing in a crouch next to the gun.  
  
"What's _wrong_ with you, Heero?!" he shouted as Duo picked himself off of the ground.  
  
"Damn..." the American muttered, rubbing his bruised face. "The first time, it's coincidence. The second time mean something's odd. The third time is when you _know_ something's wrong."  
  
Heero didn't seem to notice either of them as his legs collapsed on themselves and he fell to the ground, just staring ahead. Trowa looked to Duo and gave a slight nod, signalling the other boy to go to their friend as he took the fire-arm.  
  
"Heero," Duo was saying as he knelt next to the stranger-acting boy. A moment passed with no response, so the concerned pilot reached out a hand to place on the shorter-haired boy's shoulder. "Heero--"  
  
"Don't," Heero quietly said, not moving from his position.  
  
"Heero...what the Hell were you doing? Trying to kill Trowa--?" Duo cut himself off as he watched the other boy lift his hands to stare at them.  
  
"Duo...if I was trying...I would have done it," Heero told him, still not looking up.  
  
"Then why--?"  
  
"I lost control," the boy barely said, his hands curling into fists.  
  
"Wha--"  
  
"Duo." Heero looked to the other boy, quickly becoming deadly serious. "Do me a favor. If this happens again...do whatever you need to stop me. Kill me if you have to."  
  
  
  
  
While Duo was dealing with Heero, Trowa decided to check on the three captives, who all heard what had happened. The shadows in the warehouse were deep and had his most of what had occurred from their sight. They were all surprised to see him appearing in front of them, holding the weapon in a secure grasp.  
  
"What is going on over there?" Wilms demanded, anxiously watching the shadows as even Relena looked frightened.  
  
"Nothing we can't handle," Trowa answered, hoping that he was even close to being correct.  
  
  
  
  
Duo was shocked by the favor asked of him by the other boy. Kill him...?  
  
"Heero..." he said slowly, weakly trying to understand what was happening, "do you know what you're asking?"  
  
"I know very well," Heero responded sharply, his expression hardening. "If you don't do this, especially when it needs to be done, I'll be a walking killing machine again. I don't want that."  
  
"But..." Duo objected, still not comprehending. "I can't just--"  
  
"Damn it, Maxwell! If I could kill myself, I would! Why do you think I tried so hard to do that before?! I don't want to be a weapon!"  
  
Duo shook his head quickly. "You're _not_ a weapon! Quit saying that!"  
  
Now Heero looked away. "Why stop saying something that's true? All I was ever trained for and used for was killing. There's a reason why, I recently discovered. What you just saw now and on the shuttle were examples of it."  
  
"What are you saying?!" Duo nearly shouted in frustration. "You're just saying words without giving them meaning!"  
  
"They have meaning," Heero said grimly. "Do you know why you couldn't recall who I was?"  
  
"I was kind of distracted," the other boy said dryly.  
  
"True, but why else?" There was a silence. "For almost a year, Duo, I was trapped somewhere. I don't remember where or exactly how long, but I know that I was a sepcimin in experiments again. Only this time, whoever they were weren't trying to make me a better terrorist, pilots, what have you. They were tryign to actually creat the perfect soldier."  
  
Heero looked over to the boy he called friend and finished ominiously, "They made one mistake."  
  
  
  
  
_"Fire," a voice commanded in the radio in Heero's ear. The young man, a boy on most accounts, was standing in a simulation room, a gun in hand. The simulation was of a couple of security guards, and he quickly fired at non-lethal points.  
  
"NO!" the voice bellowed, making him wince. "Do not think of sparing their lives!"  
  
"I don't want to kill," Heero told the voice in the radio. This was the wrong thing to say and he had to endure the pain of being shocked by something in his head. The radio, perhaps.  
  
"You will kill these simulations, or I will be sure to make your life extremely painful." The threat was in his voice, but Heero was too numb from the punishment he had went through to understand this.  
  
"I...don't...wish...to kill," the boy gritted out before crying out as electrical waves of energy tore through his mind and body. This time the pain was much, much more severe and, soon, Heero blacked out.   
  
  
  
  
"I can see why the operators of Operation Meteor note that this boy can become the perfect soldier," the voice from the radio said from above him, "but I can also see the flaw they pointed out. A soldier needs no compassion."  
  
Realizing this man--scientist?--thought him to be unconscious, Heero remained still and kept his eyes closed, listening.  
  
"Sir? What about the genetic alterati--?"  
  
"Quiet, you fool. Speak not of that. That is confidential and will remain so. There's no reason to go spouting that information everywhere," the man's voice hissed, "but yes. The hightened senses must play into effect. It is the only explanation."  
  
  
  
  
It was another day in the simulations, but this time was different.  
  
"Fire!" the voice in Heero's ear shouted just as the boy began to take aim. The trigger was pulled back in surprise and the bullet hit the simulated guard through the heart. Heero froze, eyes unnaturally wide in surprise and horror. He hadn't meant to pull the trigger...  
  
The voice, however, chuckled with pleasure. "Good. Good. You're showing your talent."  
  
Heero narrowed his eyes and glared at the one-way mirror before throwing his weapon at it. The weapon went off as if hit, and the bullet whizzed by his head, barely missing. Again the voice chuckled.  
  
"Trying to defy me, eh? Well...I am always up for a challenge." The radio went silent and then the severe pain erupted along the boy's spine._  
  
  
  
  
"I don't remember much," Heero continued, shaking his head, "but I remember the simulations and the pain and then darkness. I'm not sure exactly what they've done to me, but I know what one thing is. Somehow that scientist found a way to control me. Whenever a weapon is in my hand, I try to do something--kill people--with it."  
  
Duo watched with something akin to awe and horror as everything he'd been told was processed in his mind. It took him a moment, but when he finally grasped the meaning of it all, he managed to choke out, "Good God, Heero...how--when--?"  
  
He sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing them as he thought. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"  
  
"There wasn't time," Heero answered firmly. "I also had in control. _Had_ it."  
  
"But you're losing it, aren't you?" the other boy asked, looking to the now-silent Heero. "Is that really why you didn't have a gun when we met up?"  
  
"I had left it, yes," Heero answered, lifting his eyes to meet Duo's. "That's why I asked you that favor. I'm just a human weapon, and I have no wish to be it. If worse comes to worst...I won't blame you if you killed me."  
  
Duo watched him for a moment before looking away and standing. "We'd better get out of the dark. Trowa's probably thinking something happened," he said as he bent over and hauled the other boy to his feet. Heero made no objection as the American led him back toward their friend and hostages.  
  
"Just answer me one thing, Duo," Heero said as they neared the other group. "Why do we hide?"  
  
Duo considered the question carefully before answering, "Because we're forced into it."  
  
  
  
  
"How is he?" Trowa asked, sitting himself next to the pilot know as Shinigami, who shrugged. It was later in the night and neither of them had gotten any sleep; Trowa because of the unsettling feeling that had remained from what had happened, and Duo because he couldn't stop thinking of what Heero had told him. The aforementioned boy was asleep on the ground only a few feet from the other two, who watched him sleep with keen interest.  
  
"I think he was really drained," Duo answered after a moment. "It takes a lot of will-power to do what he did."  
  
"I can't believe that that had happened to him," Trowa replied honestly. "It seems far-fetched."  
  
"So is the rest of our lives," the other boy muttered.  
  
"Touche."   
The two fell silent, lost in their own thoughts before a shifting sound caused them to turn their heads. Relena had come over and sat herself on the other side of Duo, watching Heero's still form.  
  
"Relena," Trowa said softly, "why aren't you resting?"  
  
The former Queen of the World shook her head firmly. "I won't sleep. I can't. I'm too worried."  
  
"Heero's a tough guy," Duo replied to ease her worries and fears. "He'll be fine."  
  
Relena didn't reply to that and, instead, asked, "He's already slipping, isn't he?"  
  
"He's walking a fine line," Trowa answered, seeing no reason not to be frank with her. "If he trips, he'll fall, but I don't think that will happen. Not yet. Right now, he's testing his balance."  
  
The girl nodded while Duo looked to the other boy, exasperated. "Why must you refer to a tight-rope?"  
  
Trowa lifted an eyebrow. "Don't you find life is all a balancing act? Make a mistake and it could spell the end of you. Make it all the way across and you're the happiest man alive."  
  
Duo considered it before sighing. "I concede to the point."  
  
Another silence descended up the tro for a few moments before Duo furrowed his brow and said, "Hey, Trowa? What can gentric alterations do to a person?"  
  
"Why are you asking me?" the other boy said, equally curious.  
  
"I'm thinking aloud. Humor me." Trowa looked to him for a moment before shrugging.  
  
"I suppose it depends on the genes altered and what they're for. Why?"  
  
Duo ignored the ending question. "Well...this makes things interesting."  
  
The taller of the two sighed. "Duo, if you know something, say it. You're worrying Relena."  
  
"I'm not sure but if I'm right, then...well, I don't know what to think," the braided-haired pilot responeded, looking as though he was concentrating hard on what he was saying.  
  
"Not used to thinking?" Trowa questioned with good humor.  
  
"No!" Duo exclaimed before thinking about it. "I mean yes! No...no! Ugh! Trowa!"  
  
The other boy chuckled mildly. "Don't strain your mind so much, Duo. I'm going to go and sleeop," he said, standing.  
  
"Pleasant dreams," Duo call to the retreating boy with some sarcasm.  
  
  
  
  
"Thank you for coming," Lady Une said gratefully as she greeted her guest, who smiled politely back.  
  
"I found it odd how you said one thing and your troops did another, so I came to the conclusion that something had gone wrong," her guest told her as they walked down the corridors of the Preventers' Headquarters.  
  
Une sighed. "Thank you, Quatre, for the benefit of doubt, but I'm afraid the other's didn't consider that possibility."  
  
The blond Arabian frowned a little, his young face looking troubled. "I don't understand it, either. Perhaps they never had time to think. Heero and Duo have made quite a name for themselves by hijacking the shuttle Relena was on."  
  
"Not that any of us knowing people are surprised," Sally Po commented. "Heero and Relena always seem to run into each other."  
  
Quatre hid a smile. "At least Heero's not trying to kill her anymore."  
  
"Oh, he'll still threaten," the Chinese woman said, amused. "It's his famous line."  
  
"If you are finished, General," Une said impatiently.  
  
"Of course, Lady Une," Sall Po said, still holding a small smile.   
  
"Now, Quatre," Une started, catching the boy's attention, "I want to know if you are comfortable with what you have agreed to do. If you're not, tell me now and I won't keep trying to talk you into it."  
  
"Don't worry, Lady Une," Quatre assured her, looking determinedly ahead. "I'm perfectly fine with what you've asked of me."  
  
The woman looked to him and gave him the first smile she had in days. "That's a relief to hear, but you may want to reserve that judgement until you've seen the Mobile Suits."  
  
Quatre looked puzzled but sighed. "If you feel it's best," he agreed. "How far are these Mobile Suits?"  
  
"Right here," Sally Po spoke up once more, gesturing to a set of large doors, which opened when Une punched in the code on the panel in the wall. Quatre gasped at the sight he now beheld.  
  
"This..." he tried to say, staring ahead with awe, shock, and horror, "this is--"  
  
  
  
  
False light filtered into the near-abandoned warehouse as a new day began at the Colony. Inside the building four people slept peacefully, uncaring as the day passed on without their awareness. Blissfully ignorant of what Fate had in store for them in the future, for now was the present and in the present they had no worried.  
  
Two people, however, were awake and aware, though one looked as though she was still asleep as she watched the boy quietly sit atop an old storage box with his eyes closed, seeming to be in a meditative state. This almost made the usual harsh-looking young man look relaxed except for the fact that his brow was furrowed and sweat dampened his forehead. Whatever it was that he was doing, it didn't seem to help very much and Relena was becoming afraid that something besides the obvious was wrong with the pilot.  
  
Her concern was just about to fade, for he seemed less strained for a moment, before his back straightened and he curled his hands into fists. Relena lied still as a moment passed and then another...until the boy became relaxed once more. Heero then opened his eyes, blinking once before turning in the direction he felt someone was staring at him from.  
  
His persian-blue eyes locked on with Relena's blue eyes.  
  
Neither said a word, merely stared. Heero then looked away from her, smirked, and stood from his sitting position, stretching his muscles which had cramped up from sitting in one position too long. Grunting as he worked the kinks out, he turned his back to Relena before jumping down the other side of the box and hiding himself from view.  
  
Relena sighed, turning away from where he had disappeared, and thought of what she had heard Trowa and Duo talking about the night before. If what Heero had told Duo was true, then the Japanese boy must be an even more threathening person, though she doubt he would actually kill on of his comrades or herself...  
  
She could feel her old feelings for the elusive Gundam pilot resurface as she recalled his meditation; only, this time, they were slightly different.  
  
She didn't have time to analyze the difference for she then heard a soft noise near her, in the direction the other two pilot were at. She sat up and was slightly surprised to see some food rations next to her and Heero sitting against another box: his elbows on his knees, his fingers barely clasping each other to keep his arms from moving, and his head bowed in a thoughtful position. For a moment, she stared at him but then looked to the rations, studying them.  
  
"You haven't eaten in a day," Heero's voice said, breaking the silence. "It wouldn't do to have one of my hostages to die of malnutrition."  
  
Relena looked up to him again and smiled kindly. "Thank you."  
  
"Hn," he replied, looking in the other direction where the other two pilots slept. Relena followed his gaze and took that time to examine the two of them carefully.  
  
Both of the young pilots certainly had changed since she had last seen either of them. Their faces were sharper and less boyish than they had been, though Duo's face retained some aspects of his younger self making him seem more innocent than one would believe. Both pilots also seemed to be all legs and arms; Trowa more so than Duo, who was only several inches taller than Relena herself. Even in their sleep, it was easy to tell their personalities.  
  
"Are you afraid for them?" she asked Heero, who continued to watch his comrades carefully.  
  
"No," he answered, surprising Relena as she had thought he wouldn't haven't given her an answer, "they know how to handle themselves."  
  
"What about you?" she asked and was yet again surprised as Heero turned to her. "Are you afraid?"  
  
"Not of dying," he repsonded flatly.  
  
"Oh, yes," she said, looking away, "I'd forgotten--"  
  
"Forget it," the boy told her, his voice rough. Relena looked to him again and realized that his voice matched his appearance. His already-unkempt hair looked impossibly out-of-place and signs of a day-old bear was appearing on his young face. She looked at the other men and found that the same held true for them all.  
  
In fact, she herself felt mighty grimy. She ran a finger through her hair and it was ensared in a knot. She frowned and heard a low chuckle from Heero's direction. "What so humorous?"  
  
Heero gave her a small smirk, replying, "You, 'Former Queen.' Not used to living on the run?"  
  
"I'm afraid I've never had time to run off unlike some people," she said, slightly dryly.  
  
Heero "hn"ed thoughtfully, looking back in front of himself once again. Yet again they sat in silence, though this one was more comfortable than the others.  
  
Just as Relena reached for the rations, a loud yawn crashed through the quiet air. Looking over, she saw that Duo was sitting up and stretching with his mouth opened wide as he continued the yawn. When he had finished his stretch and closed his gaping jaw, he blinked over at the two wide-awake teenagers.  
  
"Were you guys watching me sleep? That's creepy," he said as he stood, even though he had done the same thing to Heero the night before.  
  
"Don't flatter yourself, Maxwell," the aforementioned boy said, monotonously, making the other pilot look toward him and frown.  
  
"What? now I'm not good enough to be stared at?" Duo asked with fake indignance. Heero didn't reply and Relena looked to Duo, amused.  
  
"You're very handsome," she assured him, making him grin.  
  
"Oh, really?" Duo questioned, a playful tone in his voice. "How 'bout a date then?"  
  
At the question, the young woman smiled. "I'm sorry, but I'm Heero's hostage," she replied.  
  
The braided-haired boy sighed over-dramatically. "Should've known. Being the thief is never fun."  
  
Heero grunted, gaining their attention as he stood and walked off. Duo immediately looked over to the girl once he was out of sight, concern for his friend appearing on his previous joking face as he asked, "He okay?"  
  
"He seems fine," Relena answered, deciding not to tell him about when the other boy had been in his meditative state.  
  
"Hopefully, whatever is happening to Heero won't explode while the battle's starting," sighed the young man.  
  
"Battle?" Relena looked startled.   
  
"The Preventers aren't the ones chasing us," another voice answered, making Duo jump in surprise. Trowa, who was leaned up against the box behind Duo, had been the one who had spoken.  
  
"It's how Lady Une said, then?" Relena questioned.  
  
Trowa opened the eye not hidden by his bang and watched the girl coolly. "I don't know what Une must have said. What I do know is that it's a faction of the Preventers that were trying to kill us or force us into some Mobile Suits for war purposes. Une may just want us to test the Suits, that's all. We have no way to be sure, so we're not taking our chances."  
  
Duo snorted. "That faction's got another thing coming if they think I'll willingly go into battle," he said, borrowing Heero's gruffness for a moment.  
  
"I agree," the other pilot said. "War shouldn't be against a defenseless nation, and that is what the earth and her colonies are. The Preventers have the only Mobile Suits, but we have no way of knowing who is in the faction."  
  
Relena allowed herself to look genuinely surprised. "How is it that you can tell all of this without very many facts or information?" she asked.  
  
"I was originally trained as a technician," the lanky pilot answered, shutting his eye. "Then I became a Gundam pilot and learned how to find out problems in missions and such rather than machinery."  
  
"Yeah, and I'm the thief," Duo spoke up with some jealousy.  
  
"You're good at what you do," Trowa said, still looking as thought he was asleep. Duo sighed, so he added, "Plus you're Shinigami."  
  
Now the long-haired boy chuckled. "Yeah, Bringer of Death."  
  
"It is better than the Bringer of War."   
  
  
  
  
"I can't believe this," Quatre said, still staring at the Mobile Suit towering above him. He had been in the hanger for hours, just staring and not really believing what he saw. Somehow, however, he made his way to the foot of the mighty Mobile Suit and nearly fell over as he took in the size of it.  
  
It had been three years since he had seen a Mobile Suit of such stature.  
  
Smiling slightly, the young blone Arabian lifted a hand and reach out to touch the armor, to see if it was really there. Before he could, a cold feeling entered his heart and he pulled his hand away to turn to the person who had just entered. The man was tall and had dark, brown hair streaked with silver and some grey. He wore a Preventers' uniform, but in Quatre's eyes, it seemed either a little too small or too big on him. He could tell that the cold feeling was coming from this man and unconsciously shuddered as the man smiled at him.  
  
"You must be the Gundam pilot," the man said as he came forward, his boots clicking ominiously on the stone floor. "Such a surprise that one of the pilots would be the one and only heir of the Winner clan."  
  
Quatre resisted backing away as the man came closer and merely asked, "Who are you?"  
  
"Ah, forgive my impoliteness. My name is Willian Sloh," the man said, holding out his hand in a form of greetings.  
  
The polite and respectable side of Quatre was ready to take his hand in pilot courtesy; the Gundam pilot side of him, however, protested severely. So he merely stood, watching Sloh's hand carefully. Sloh waited a few minutes before lowering his hand and chuckling.  
  
"Yes, you are most certainly a pilot. Not trusting of others?"  
  
Quatre shook his head. "It's not that."  
  
"Oh?" questioned the elder man. "Then let us try again. I am Willian Sloh."  
  
Again the hand was held out and again Quatre merely stared. Sloh waited, looked to his hand, to Quatre, and then said, "I am not poisonous," as he took a step forward. He halted, however, when the blond backed up a step unconsciously.  
  
Sloh frowned. "I thought you had said that this was not a matter of trust."  
  
"It isn't," Quatre said firmly. "I don't know whom to trust, but this isn't about that. I won't shake hands with a man who gives me this cold feeling."  
  
Now the tall man looked curious as he lowered his hand. "Cold? I make you cold?" he questioned and continued when the boy gave no answer, "You are empathetic?"  
  
"It is well-known that the Winners are sensitive to such things," was the response.  
  
Sloh gave him a slow smile. "Ah, yes. I'd forgotten," he said, chuckling.  
  
Quatre shuttered again and took another step back just as the sounds of someone shouting, "Fire!" and a sudden gunshot echoed in his mind. The boy shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked up at the man with confusion.  
  
"What is it that you want?" he asked.  
  
"Merely to speak with you," Sloh answered. "I am curious why you've decided to come to pilot the Mobile Suit when your comrades did not."  
  
"My _friends_ did not come because they believe the Mobile Suits and themselves will be used in combat," Quatre said firmly. "I am only piloting the Suit. I am _not_ going into combat. If it looks as though I will be, I'll leave.  
  
"My friends are not cowards. They're thinking of the good of peace and they want to keep the peace instead of destroying it senselessly, Mr. Sloh. They're respectable young men and they deserve to do as they wish. They--_we_--were the ones who went against Operation Meteor in the beginning."  
  
Sloh paused for a moment. "I commend your loyalty to you...friends, Mr. Winner," he said, his voice dull and odd. "It is a rare thing these days."  
  
"Yes, well, we pilots have been through a lot together," Quatre responded stiffly before looking to the Mobile Suit. "I believe I'm going to speak with Lady Une. If you'll excuse me--"  
  
He tried to brush passed the uniformed man, but Sloh grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. Quatre gasped as the cold feeling blossomed into an icy fire that burned the skin that was under Sloh's fingers. He tried to pull away, but his efforts were feeble as he seemed to weaken the longer Sloh had his hand on his arm. He looked up at the man, to ask him to let him go, but saw the glint in his eyes.  
  
Sloh knew what he was doing.  
  
"I'm sorry," Sloh apologized cruelly as he watched the boy weakly struggle. "Am I hurting you?"  
  
Without tightening his hold, he was able to make the boy almost fall over in pain. "Please," Quatre managed to say, pleadingly. "Let go."  
  
Sloh chuckled for a moment before pulling the pilot closer to him and whispering, "For an empath, you are pathetically weak." He then shoved the boy to the ground before walking off, a low chuckle escaping him again.  
  
Quatre stayed on the ground, concentrating on his breathing as the burning cold began to dissipate. He could feel himself shaking uncontrollably as he then tried to push himself up. He had only managed to lift his upper body off of the ground when he saw the Mobile Suit standing in the same place it had been. As he sated at the Suit something seemed to strike him and he fell with a cry as voices echoed in his mind.  
  
"Fire!" one shouted before it then exclaimed, "Do not think of sparing their lives!"  
  
Then another voice, one that sounded like Heero's had, only deeper and more mature, replied, "I don't want to kill..."  
  
'What's happening?' Quatre wondered to himself as he began to slip into unconsciousness. 'I'm so cold...Sandrock...'  
  
Everything went dark.  
  
  
  
  
"Don't make me laugh, Duo. Your face is known from here to Earth and back. You'll be caught for sure."  
  
The American stubbornly glared at the taller boy, a look of defiance on his face. "I can take care of myself."  
  
Trowa rose an eyebrow at the other boy. "Do you understand how obvious you are? Your braid will give you away in seconds, Duo."  
  
"Well, obviously _you_ don't understand why I _keep_ it!" Duo shouted back, grabbing the end of the long braid and waving it under the acrobat's nose.  
  
Trowa shoved it away. "No, I don't, but I am assuming that you are unwilling to tell me."  
  
"I--"  
  
"I'll go," Heero's voice broke into the arguement, causing both pilots to look to their friend--surprised in Duo's case. "I'll go get us transportation. You two watch over my hostages."  
  
"This doesn't sit well for me, Heero," Trowa said, seriously. "You don't know who that scientist was or how you got out of that lab, and he may be trying to find you again. If you get caught--"  
  
"I won't get caught," Heero said with a dark look.  
  
"But, Heero--" Duo began to object.  
  
"Listen," Heero interrupted sharply. "We can't afford to worry about this--"  
  
"We can't afford to ignore it, either," Trowa said, his green eyes narrowing at the Japanese boy who gave him an equally harsh look.  
  
"Look, Heero," Duo said, putting a hand on the determined boy's shoulder as he somehow materalized behind him. "You're not getting the shuttle. How can you steal one without having something to defend yourself with?"  
  
Heero jerked his shoulder away and spun toward the braided-haired boy, looking positively livid that that fact had been mentioned. "Damn you, Maxwell! If I had a gun now, I'd kill *you*!"  
  
Duo quickly hid his surprise with the roll of his eyes. "I love you, too, Heero, but now's not the time--" He quickly jumped to the side as the now-enraged boy lunged for him. Duo was lucky Trowa grabbed Heero and kept him from trying to pummel him to death.  
  
"Calm down, Heero," the former circus performer said, watching the restrained pilot carefully. Heero's face showed signs of anger and frustration, but his persian-blue eyes told a different story. There was confusion, frustration, pain, and--  
  
Was that fear?  
  
Trowa blinked and looked to Duo, who stood with his arms crossed. The shorter pilot raised a curious brow and received a nod in reply. Duo then turned and left, heading for the exit.  
  
Trowa looked back to the boy he was restraining and found that Heero's expression was voice of any emotion and his eyes were stubbornly on the ground. Sighing, the tall pilot released his hold and stepped away, watching as Heero clenched his fists and seemed to be shaking in anger. Trowa knew better, however.  
  
"You've got to calm down, Heero," he said in calming voice. "Duo and I know you can't stand this, but you've got to know that it can't be helped. We are really worried about you and are afraid for you--"  
  
"What is it like to be afraid, Trowa?" Heero interrupted, not turning to face the other boy.  
  
"Are you afraid?" Trowa asked, his green eyes keeping a studious watch on the Japanese boy. His ears were listening for an answer and were making sure the captives were still where they had been before.  
  
"How am I to know?" Heero said, bitterness creeping into his words, surprising Trowa.  
  
For a moment, the taller boy couldn't comprehend Heero's meaning; then, it fell into place. "Your doctor never allowed you, did he?"  
  
Heero didn't reply, but his fists uncurled themselves very slowly. Trowa was about to say something more when the other boy answered, seeming to be speaking of someone entirely different than who Trowa mentioned, "He thought I was weak. A compassionate killer. A failed experiment. He never allowed me to feel anything. Not even..."  
  
He trailed off but Trowa didn't pry. Whether or not he chose to talk was his decision.  
  
"...I never enjoyed killing. I hated it. That's why I tried so hard to kill myself. Back on L1...I was given several missions. Some were actually assassination assignments. Once...the mission fell apart. The building that was my target--a Mobile Suit base--it exploded...the explosion knocked a Suit into the homes near the base. A little girl and her dog...I met them at the park once...they lived in the homes that the Suit collapsed on. I tried to find the little girl, but only found the dog...that puppy..."  
  
Trowa sighed. "Don't, Heero. There's no need to think of that anymore. You're not a killer. You've done all you can--"  
  
"But the memory won't leave," Heero said flatly.  
  
"And probably never will, but you have to move on from it," the other boy responded before walking froward and putting a hand on Heero's shoulder. "I think we need to worry about the present now. We are wanted men, after all."  
  
  
  
  
"Hey, can I have one of those?" Duo asked the old man running the old-fashioned news stands. The old man continued to stare off into space, even when the young man waved a hand up and down before him. Shrugging, he took a newspaper from the rack and walked off.  
  
So much for the thrill of thieving.  
  
"Let's see what everyone has to say," he muttered as he unfolded the newspaper. He scanned the headlines and sighed, "What a waste of my time."  
  
He put the newspaper on top of someone lying on a bench's face. It was a good thing the guy was alseep; Duo wasn't up for running. He continued to walk on, his stolen hat and coat hiding his face and unnaturally long hair.  
  
When he reached the main street of the Colony's main city, he heard the other pedestrian stop as a news flash showed on the large screen on a tower. He blinked and immediately started to turn away.  
  
"_...Raberba Winner was placed into hospitalization on this morning_," the reporter was saying. The mentioning of the fourth Gundam pilot made Duo freeze and look back in disbelief. "_Neither doctors nor friends will enlighten us with any information on the young heir's condition. Further details have been withheld by--_"  
  
Duo shook his head. "Oh, God...who could have--?"  
  
"I have to say, I agree," a voice said from behind him. The braided-haired pilot spun around, a gun barely visible under his jacket sleeve.  
  
"So you're the curious guy," he commented. "That guy that followed me from the newspaper rack."  
  
The guy, not too much older than Duo himself, cocked his head to the side. "You do have good street-sense."  
  
Duo gave him a grim smile. "Comes from growing up on the streets on L2," he said, subtly motioning for the other young man to move into the alley.  
  
Once they reached it, the Gundam pilot punched the guy in the face, knocking him against the wall and allowing him to have enough time to pull out his gun completely into view. "Damn you, following me around," he said, gritting his teeth. "Why were you following and how much do you know?"  
  
The light-haired boy chuckled as he leaned against the wall, sitting on garabage and other filth in the alley. "I'm not a threat to your security, if that's what you really want to know."  
  
"No..." Duo said, mockingly. "I want to know _why_ you were following and _how much_ you know!"  
  
Now the other boy smirked. "Because and depends."  
  
"Okay, Pal," the armed teenager said with a fleck of anger, "speak _my_ language or you won't be around to speak _any_ language. Depends on _what_?"  
  
"How much you know about Heero Yuy," the young man responded. Duo decided to play his hand carefully by giving the impression he was frustrated.  
  
"That guy that was assassinated--?" The other boy frowned.  
  
"Don't patronize me," he said, his expression sour. "You know damn well who I'm talking about."  
  
"What do you know about Heero?" Duo asked, dropping his act and getting himself ready to fire if he needed to.  
  
The other boy gave him a partial smirk, partial grim smile. "I know what happened to him that year."  
  
  
  
  
"It seems odd," Lady Une said to Sally Po as the two women watched over the pale boy who lied asleep on the hospital bed. His blond hair nearly looked white itself against the white sheets. "I don't know how this could have happened."  
  
"What I don't understand is why he is so drained of energy," the other woman said, her tone that of the trained physician she was. "Even shock wouldn't leave him in such a state."  
  
Une looked to her for a moment. "And there's nothing physically wrong him besides that?"  
  
"No. I just don't understand it," Sally said with some frustration as the door opened and a nurse's head poked inside, looking at the two women and the still boy.  
  
"Excuse me," she said, hesitantly, "but there's a man on the video-screen for either of you. Says he wants to know what's wrong with Mr. Winner and to ask you another question."  
  
The two women looked to each other, surprised. "Where's the call from?" Sally asked.  
  
The nurse looked nervous but replied, "The L3 Colony. It's very odd..."  
  
"I'll take it," Une said, giving the General a pointed look. "I think I may know who it may be."  
  
Now the young nurse looked relieved. "Thank Heaven. He's been giving all the employees trouble. We had to mute the screen to make him not disturb the patients," she explained as she lead the older woman to a more private room.  
  
Lady Une smiled at the mental image. "I think it is who I think it is," she said as the nurse led her to a room where the video screen was. The young woman gestured to one that had a young man in a hat and jacket, screaming at the screen with his eyes shut.  
  
"Yes, it is him," she said with a slight smirk before looking to the nurse and nodding her dismissal. When the girl was gone, she turned back to the screen and pressed mute again.  
  
"--ALMOST HAD TO KILL MYSELF BECAUSE THE DAMNED IDIOT PLAYED GAMES WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES--!"  
  
"I'm assumning you're speaking of Heero, Duo?" she asked with some laughter. The Gundam pilot's mouth was open, as if he was going to go back to yelling, but when he heard the woman's voice, his mouth clamped shut and his eyes opened wide.  
  
"Une!" he shouted, this time with relief and excitement. "I am damned happy you're the one that took the call."  
  
Here Une's face went black and she replied, "Yes, you called about Quatre?"  
  
Now it was Duo's turn to look blank. "Yeah. Trowa told me and Heero he suspects a faction in the Preventers that are out to get us Gundam pilots to either fight or be killed before we can go against them. I think that whatever happened to Quatre was their doing." He paused. "How is he, by the way?"  
  
"Asleep. very weak and slightly cold," Une answered calmly. She waited for a reaction, but there wasn't one. "We found him passed out in the Mobile Suit hanger."  
  
"...oh, God," Duo finally said, looking away. "How--?"  
  
"We don't know. Sally is even bewildered by his symptoms--"  
  
"Symptoms?" The pilot looked up at the word.  
  
Une frowned. "Yes, I just told you them. They would all suggest shock except he's completely drained of energy."  
  
Duo looked as though he was considering something before he was knocked out of the screen's view as another boy took his place, saluting the leader of the Preventers.  
  
"Thomas Taylor reporting, Lady--oof!" Duo slammed into the lighter-haired boy, taking his place back in the screen.  
  
"Damn you! Didn't I tell you not to interrupt?!" the pilot shouted at the boy off-screen.  
  
"Duo," Une interrupted, gaining the annoyed boy's attention. "You have no need to beat up one of my men."  
  
The Gundam pilot spluttered. "You mean he's been following _me_--?!"  
  
"Actually, his assignment was to find Heero Yuy," the woman said, giving Duo a hard look. "He has not reported in for almost a year and a half. Taylor! Report!"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am!" the boy's voice said before his face shared the screen wiht Duo's, his expression solemn as he began, "My Lady, Heero Yuy just escaped a lab in an uncharted location, which he had been held in for most of the time I was away."  
  
"When was his escape?" Une questioned, now looking angered. "When was he captured? Who were his captors? And, damn it, why the Hell didn't anyone know about this?!"  
  
Duo's surprise went unnoticed as Thomas continued, "He had been captured June, AC 198, by some men I could not see clearly. I had almost helped him get away when he was shot from behind with a strong drug that knocked him out in seconds. The men took him on a shuttle and I followed. I do not know the location of the lab. He escaped November, AC 199."  
  
"A month ago," Une said to herself while Dup looked to the young man beside him.  
  
"And _why_ didn't you _help_ him?" he demanded, fists clenching.  
  
"They found me when we arrived at the lab," Thomas answered passively. "I convinced them I had been the one who had lead him to the ambush."  
  
"I'm sure you did," the pilot said icily, glaring at the Preventer.  
  
"Please," Une said, interrupting Thomas's retort. "Tell me what happened in the lab."  
  
The Preventer spy was about to answer when Duo butted in, "_I_ can answer that. Heero told me himself he remembers some of the simulations he was forced into. They were trying to make him into an actual perfect soldier and a human killing machine."  
  
"Tom?" questioned Une, looking close to being horrified.  
  
"Affirmative. He's stating the truth," the spy answered.  
  
Duo huffed. "I may run and I may hide, but I _never_ lie," he said indignantly. "Heero told me that every time he told the scientist he wouldn't do anything lethal to the simulations, he's be tortured with something like an electrical shock. He also said that he did accidently shoot a simulated guard 'dead' when the scientist distracted him."  
  
Now Une frowned. "Heero wouldn't mis-aim," she said.  
  
Duo sighed. "I think before that session was when the scientists began his 'experiment.'"  
  
"Which would be?"  
  
"Control," was the answer. "Whoever this scientist is, they can control Heero when he's distracted with a weapon in hand. Trowa and I both had him aim guns at us, though I think Trowa got the worst of it. Heero can't touch a weapon; we don't know when he'll lose control."  
  
"Yes," Tom put in, looking to the other pilot with surprise, "but what Heero wouldn't know was that the scientist was not just trying to control Heero. He was also studying genes."  
  
Duo eyes went wide as he turned to Tom. "Heero's genes?"  
  
"Yes," the other boy answered hesitantly.  
  
"Aw, shit," the younger one swore as he fiddled with his hat. "Heero told me he heard the scientist once talk about 'altered genetics' or something with another person when he was supposed to be unconscious."  
  
Tom looked uncomfortable. "He was awake?"  
  
"Well, yeah--hey! You were the one the scientist was talking to, weren't you?!"  
  
"Enough!" barked Lady Une, tired of the bickering. "Duo, finish what you were telling me. Tom, nod to confirm what he says."  
  
Tom nodded stiffly and Duo continued, with a glare at the older boy, "Well, when Heero first told me about that part, it kind of bothered me. Why would someone alter the genes of an almost-grown man? Now that _Tom_ tells me that the scientist was studying _Heero's_ genes..." He paused. "Lady Une, is there _anyway_ to recover documents on Operation Meteor?"  
  
The woman shook her head. "There's nothing. All of the documents were--"  
  
"Not quite," Tom interrupted. "The one who held Heero has his files: all the details that were recorded by the doctors--including Doctor J--about his childhood, the notes of his genetic alterations--"  
  
"Say what?!" Duo exclaimed while Une rubbed her brow.  
  
"You're surprised?" Tom asked dryly.  
  
"Well, no--I mean, yes! Yes, I am!"  
  
"Duo," Une saked, continuing to rub her head, "is _that_ what you wanted the files for?"  
  
"Yes! But...ugh! This is a nightmare!" the young pilot exclaimed, grabbing his hat and pulling it farther down over his eyes. "He's studying Heero's genes, which may have been altered by the doctors of Operation Meteor. He really _wants_ the perfect soldier!"  
  
"There's no way he can achieve it," Une said confidently.  
  
Duo lifted his hat a bit and said with a harsh tone, "Oh, yes, he can...Heero's _not_ the _perfect_ soldier, we know that already. The scientist would have done everything he could to keep him otherwise. So he must have--"  
  
Tom interrupted, "According to the files, Heero Yuy is flawed. It's noted that they could never get rid of Heero's compassion for some of his targets. The one who held him knew this. His plan is to get rid of the flaw by using Heero's genetics as a map. Get rid of the compassion, and there is the perfect soldier."  
  
"It would be utterably unstable," objected Lady Une.  
  
"No, _Heero_ was unstable," Duo countered seriously. "A person with the same traits as Heero, minus his 'flaw,' would be completely stable. They wouldn't be confused or have mixed feelings on anything."  
  
"Damn," swore Une loudly. "This keeps getting worse and worse."  
  
"The question we need to ask," the Gundam pilot said grimly, "is: why does he want the perfect soldier."  
  
Tom shook his head. "No, that's not it. The question is: is the Preventer Faction in league with the Perfect Soldier Project."  
  
They all went silent, considering the statement. Duo looked grim as he interrupted the heavy silence, "You know...I really hate it when there's two different situations that might tie in together. There's no telling where the enemy's hiding."   
  
Lady Une gave him a wane smile. "So I take it that I am no longer the enemy?"  
  
"Well..." Duo said, lightening the mood with a small laugh. "That was a mistake, ya know. We thought you were the one shooting at us to get us to pilot for war purposes.  
  
"That reminds me," the woman said. "Where are you right now?"  
  
Duo gave her a curious look. "Inside a stolen shuttle. I was going to go collect Heero, Trowa, and the hostages but thought I should check up on Quatre."  
  
"Are you planning to come down to Earth?"  
  
"We might..." the pilot said slowly. "Honestly, we're playing this by ear, like we've always done. Heero was the one with the idea to get Trowa, so he might have an idea."  
  
"I don't think--" Tom started.  
  
"Who asked you?"  
  
Lady Une shook her head. "Keep me updated on your situation and be careful.  
  
"All right," was the reply. "Keep an eye on Quatre and be on guard."  
  
With that, the screen went dark.  
  
  
  
  
"You," Duo said to Tom after disconnecting his connectuion to the hospital, "are going to tell me _everything_ you know about what happened to Heero."  
  
The Preventer spy shifted uncomfortably before the Gundam pilot. "I'm not sure if I should--"  
  
"Forget about orders," the braided-haired boy said with narrowed eyes. "You're going to have to learn that orders are meaningless if nothing's stable enough to _give_ them. Sometimes you have to improvise. Now spill."  
  
The older boy sighed, feeling small after being reprimanded by a teenager that was almost three years his Junior. "All right. I'll tell you all I know."  
  
Duo gave him a grin. "Now we're getting somewhere."  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
_Author's Notes:_ *pokes head in* Wufei gone? *sweatdrops* Good, because I was getting tired of running. Maybe he found someone else to chase around...*thoughtful look* (*Wufei is chasing Duo in the background*) *shrugs* Oh, well ^.^ Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the fic thus far. And have no fear, all will be explained! *sweatdrops* I always say that, don't I? -.- I need to quit it because I usually don't finish when I do. T.T I really wanna finish at least ONE fic! T.T Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the lengthy reading. Now I'm going to read some Cowboy Bebop and Gundam Wing fics ^.^ Ja! ^.~  
  
Oh, wait! I forgot something. Quatre is an empath, meaning he can feel other people's emotions clearly. Sometimes, it is my belief, he can feel how a person truly is, which explains why Sloh made him feel cold. Well, I think that's it now ^.^ Ja! ^.~! 


	3. Unshed Tears

_Author's Notes:_ *yawns* Boy, it's been a while. ^.^" I really should work on my HP fic, but this chapter was so close to being done that I couldn't help but to work on it. It's a bit shorter than the last two chapters, but should still be a good read. In this chapter, the R/H fans will probably need a plushie to hug while reading. ^.^" It's so cute! Anyway, this is the start of when things get to really move. The plot's starting to show itself people! *cheer* ^.^" Well, I don't know much of what I can say except I want to thank the two people who decided to review this fic ^.^" Jeez...I didn't know this thing would be that much of a flop...maybe it's because it so freakin' LONG! ^.^" Anyhow, let's start with the fic, shall we? ^.~v  
  
_Disclaimer:_ I already told you! I own no one! T.T Why can't I though?! WAHHHHHH! *sniffles and huggles her plushie* T.T I want to own the Gundam Pilots...*notices Wufei with his sword* ...^.^' Well, maybe not Wufei...he doesn't seem to like me ^.^"  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


** _Unshed Tears_**

  
  
  
  
  
"I suppose it wasn't any trouble," Trowa said, looking to the other pilot and the shuttle behind him. It was only a few hours after the long-haried boy had contacted Lady Une and had discovered the true enemy's intention, and Duo had only just-arrived to collect the others at the warehouse.  
  
"None, actually," the other boy said smugly, acting his part as the light-hearted one, though his mind was buzzing with the information Tom had given him. "I actually contacted Une when I first got on the ship."  
  
Now the tall pilot looked curious. "And what did Lady Une say about what we suspect?"  
  
Duo shrugged. "Not much," he answered as he looked back at the shuttle. "She must have already suspected something. Also...Quatre's been to visit her."  
  
"Oh?" asked Trowa.  
  
"Yeah..." Duo said slowly. "He went to see the Mobile Suits..."  
  
"Spit it out, Maxwell," Heero said, coming over. "Don't beat around the bush and say what you want to say."  
  
For once, Duo looked nervous around the Japanese boy, whose eyes were narrowed in a studious manner. Clearing his throat, the braided-haired boy continued, "Quatre was taken to the hopital this morning. Une's people found him pass-out in the Mobile Suit hanger. We--Une and I--think whoever's running the Faction was responsible."  
  
The other two pilots were quiet.  
  
"He's all right," Heero spoke up, not looking at either of the other, who exchanged glances.  
  
"Yeah," Duo agreed, nodding. "He should be all right. Une said something about him being in some sort of shock."  
  
"Well, this makes things all the more interesting," Trowa commented, looking to the ground. "The enemy must have known we would be separated--"  
  
"Or that Quatre would actually go to the Preventers," Heero said with a dark tone. Duo scratched the back of his head, thinking.  
  
"It's kind of funny, though," he said, gaining the others' attention. "None of the authorities tried to stop me when I took off in the shuttle."  
  
This definately caught their attention.  
  
"Our security's never that lax," Trowa said, looking upward at the 'ceiling' of the Colony.  
  
Heero looked grim. "They're toying with us," he said bluntly.  
  
"Ah, shit," Duo swore half-heartedly as he looked back at the stolen ship. "I guess that means getting out of L3 will be harder than getting in."  
  
"I don't think that's the case--" Trowa began before Heero grabbed his shoulder and nodded toward the ship. Duo, noticing, turned and saw Tom quietly exiting the shuttle.  
  
"Oh," said the long-haired pilot, "that's Tom Taylor. Une's officer. Followed me around when I was getting the shuttle."  
  
This didn't reassure the others as they cautiously watched the older boy come over nervously. For a minute, no one said or did anything. Then, Heero clutched Trowa's shirt in his hand and stared at the lighter-haired young man. Trowa, brow furrowing, looked to the one at his shoulder in concern.  
  
"Heero? You all right?" he asked, watching the smaller teen carefully.  
  
After a moment of silence, Heero released the cloth and looked away. "It's nothing," he said before stalking passed the Preventer. "Get the hostages. We need to leave."  
  
As he headed toward the shuttle, Trowa looked to Duo, who shrugged, and then to Tom, who sighed.  
  
"I think he recognized me," the young man said with a bit of bitterness in his voice.  
  
Trowa rose an eyebrow but didn't ask questions as Duo shook his head and signalled that he would explain later. "All right, then," he said instead, "Tom, help me with the hostages and, Duo, you get the ship ready."  
  
Duo threw him a salute. "Aye, Captain," he answered, heading toward the ship.  
  
  
  
  
The first thing Quatre noticed when he woke was white. It was very disorientating and confusing to look at, since it never seemed to be any different. Just white.  
  
'Where...?' he asked himself, turning his head and seeing a face peering at him with a smile.  
  
"Glad to see you awake, Quatre," the visage of Sally Po said politely. "We were worried that you wouldn't wake for another day or so."  
  
The blond-haired boy smiled weakly. "Sorry I've worried you," he said, his voice sounding weak even to himself.   
  
"No need to apologize," Sally assured him. "You weren't the one who made you collapse in the hanger."  
  
Quatre's bright green-blue eyes widened as he remembered what had happened and he tried to sit up, but the Chinese woman put a hand to his chest and pushed him back down. "Sally..." he objected.  
  
The trained nurse frowned heavily at him in disapproval. "You shouldn't sit up or try to. Your body's too weak--"  
  
"But, Sally," Quatre said, not moving since the woman had not removed her hand, "I need to tell Lady Une--"  
  
"That's not an excuse," another voice said sharply from the door.  
  
Quatre looked over and flushed with embarrassment when he saw who it was. "I'm sorry, Lady Une," he apologized. "I suppose I wasn't thinking correctly."  
  
Une nodded. "Yes, I understand. However, I would appreciate it if you would listen to Sally when she tells you something." Quatre didn't reply, still looking embarrassed. "I have some news. Duo contacted me from L3 and was asking about you. Apparently, you were on the news."  
  
"Oh," the boy said with not very much surprise. "Where is Duo?"  
  
"With Heero and Trowa on the L3 Colony still. He was in the process of stealing a shuttle," the darker-haired woman said with some amusement.  
  
"Sounds like Duo's sticky fingers are really beginning to show themselves again," Sally commented with a smile.  
  
Quatre couldn't help but to smile as well. "Sounds like him," he agreed.  
  
"Well," Une continued, a little more lightly than before, "he also told me that Trowa had discovered that there may be a Faction of soldiers inside the Preventers. Duo thinks that is who caused you to collapse."  
  
"I think he's right," Quatre replied, motioning for Sally to raise his bed in a sitting position. "There was a man that came in while I was in there. he gave me a real cold feeling, and he seemed to be wearing a uniform that didn't fit him. He introduced himself as Willian Sloh."  
  
Sally looked to Lady Une as she stopped the bed at a forty-five degree angle. The Preventers Leader looked ill as she heard those words.  
  
"Sloh? That..." Quatre watched in surprise as the woman spun away from him and clenched her fists. "It was all Sloh. He had been in charge..."  
  
"It's all right, Lady Une," the boy assured her calmly. "He was a traitor from the start, I know he was."  
  
Sally put a hand on his shoulder, gaining his attention. "Let me talk with her alone. You get some rest."  
  
Quatre looked at her, then to Lady Une before nodding. "I understand," he said but added, "Lady Une, be careful with this Sloh. He's not normal. He...seemed to be a very powerful empath. I have never met anyone able to control their...I don't know what to call it."  
  
"Thank you, Quatre," Une said, not facing him and her voice hardening. "This information has been most valuable."  
  
Quatre nodded, uncertainly, feeling the anxiousness the woman was feeling.  
  
  
  
  
"Come along," Trowa said to the captives, who watched him curiously from their positions on the ground. "We must be going."  
  
Tom came up cautiously and blinked in surprise. "Well, this is amusing," he said lightly.  
  
Wilms gave him a withering look while Davis looked curious. "Are you another pilot?" he questioned with a fair bit of confusion, making Trowa and Relena look amused.  
  
"Uh, no," Tom answered, looking a bit embarrassed, "I'm Thomas Taylor. A Preventer."  
  
Wilms immediately brightened. "Good!" he cried, standing. "Then you'll--"  
  
"Stay there, Senator," Trowa interrupted, his gun quickly in his hand. "Taylor isn't here to rescue captives."  
  
"What?!" the old man demanded before turning toward the young Preventer. "You are in an _alliance_ with these...terrorists?! Madness!"  
  
Tom's back straightened and he looked angrily at the Senator. "These terrorists--as you so 'mildly' put it--are the reason we've even *had* peace these last few years," he said before his eyes narrowed. "You should learn to have some respect, _Sir_."  
  
Wilms bristled but said nothing as he then eyed the Gundam pilot with distate.  
  
Relena chose that moment to intervene, standing, and saying, "Gentlemen, I do not think that now is the wisest time to argue over whom we should respect." She looked to Trowa. "Mr. Barton, I believe you said we must be going?"  
  
"Yes," answered the pilot, not at all surprised that she was diffusing the situation.  
  
"Then, I suppose we must follow your orders," the girl replied, helping Davis to his feet. "After all, you _are_ the one with the gun."  
  
For a moment, Trowa looked impressed as the young woman somehow managed to subdue the older men; of course, he quickly changed his expression to a blank mask and looked to Tom. "Get to the shuttle. Tell Duo to be ready to leave in five minutes."  
  
The older boy nodded and headed back toward the shuttle while Trowa gestured in the same direction with his gun.  
  
  
  
  
"Something wrong, Heero?" Duo asked as the silent pilot took a seat in the captain's cabin. The braided-haired boy looked uncertainly at the other boy when he remained silent and didn't answer the question. Shifting uncomfortably, Duo turned his attention to the control panel.  
  
"I don't like this Taylor Lady Une sent us," Heero said, causing his friend to jump in surprise.  
  
Duo sighed, calming himself. "That's what's bothering you?" he asked with a bit of a nervous laugh. "Lady Une wouldn't have let him come with us if there was something not right about him."  
  
Heero didn't reply.  
  
"Besides," Duo continued, waving a hand airily, "it's not like he can kill us. Three against one?"  
  
"I see you've never heard the famous miliatry stradegy: Divide and conquer," the Japanese boy said with some dry humor.  
  
Duo frowned.  
  
Before he could retort, however, the door opened to reveal the object of their discussion. Duo looked out of the corner of his eyes, just in time to notice his partner tense with apprehension, before he turned toward Tom.  
  
"Hey," he greeted cheerfully, "I thought you were helping Trowa."  
  
Tom looked at him for a moment before turning to look at Heero and then back to Duo. "He told me to tell you to be ready to go in five minutes."  
  
Duo nodded. "Sure, thanks," he said before turning away from the Preventer and back to the consel. As he worked, he could feel what Heero had been telling him. He hadn't noticed before, but now that he knew of it, he could feel the uncomfortable feeling of Tom standing at the doorway and watching his every move. Unnervingly firm, the stare never seemed to waver and Duo felt himself tense up, throwing a glance at Heero, who met his glance with a pointed look with narrowed eyes. Duo shrugged and went back to work, shaking himself mentally.  
  
"Tom, could you tell Trowa to hurry it up?" he said as he began the engines' warm-up.  
  
Tom nodded. "Sure," he said and left.  
  
Duo sighed, leaning back in his seat. "Man, that was awful."  
  
"I told you," Heero commented, crossing his arms and watching the panel in front of him. "My instincts tend not to lie. When I don't act on them, disaster happens."  
  
Duo shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "Well...maybe we're paranoid. I mean, sure there's a chance he's with the Faction but--"  
  
"That's right," interrupted Heero firmly, "there's always a chance, and we can't drop our guard until we're sure he isn't with them."  
  
Again, Duo shifted in his seat. "Well, yeah..." The American teenager shook his head, sighing. "I hate being paranoid."  
  
"Hn," was the reply.  
  
Duo shot him a dirty look. "I hold _you_ responsible for this."  
  
"Hn," again, was all Heero said.  
  
  
  
  
"When will I be able to pilot?" Quatre asked curiously as he slowly pulled a shirt over his small frame. It was almost a day since he had been admitted into the hospital and he was now well enough to leave, though the doctors and Sally Po insisted for him to not do so many activities for a few days. It was a bothersome arrangement, but the young Arabian knew better than to not listen to their orders.  
  
Sally, who had been the one to get Quatre his clothes, gave him a curious look. "You're actually eager to pilot?" she asked dubiously.  
  
Quatre smiled with uncertainty and replied, "Not really. I just kind of want to...see how it is again. It had been a while."  
  
"You treat three years as if it were thirty," the Chinese woman said with amusement while the boy blushed.  
  
"It almost seems that way," responded the blond teenager. "Time just seems to have crawled by extremely slow since the New Year's Battle."  
  
"I can understand that," Sally agreed, leading the way out of the hospital. Quatre trailed after her slowly, still weak from whatever had happened to him. Sally frowned and asked, "Why don't you use a wheelchair? I don't know if--"  
  
"I'll be fine," Quatre interrupted with an insisting tone. "I need to walk, Sally."  
  
The Preventer General sighed but did not push the matter. "It won't be until next week until you can pilot. One: you're too weak for it; two: we're still installing special features into--"  
  
"Not the Zero System!" Quatre exclaimed with alarm.  
  
"No!" Sally said with a small laugh. "The Zero System is not in any of the Mobile Suits--"  
  
"Except Heero's, right?" Quatre looked up and immediately saw, and felt, the sinking feeling of one hiding something in Sally. "What?"  
  
"Heero...won't be piloting until we work with him for a while," Sall said slowly. The blond Arabian immediately became concerned.  
  
"Is Heero all right?" he asked, coming up beside the Preventer. "Nothing happened to him?"  
  
The Chinese woman sighed. "I didn't want to be the one to tell you, but...Heero's unable to go near _any_ weapon. Duo's informed Lady Une that for a year or so, Heero had been captured and exprimented upon by a scientist. This scientist can somehow make Heero into a puppet whenever he's holding a weapon and is distracted. Duo said he's witnessed this occurring twice already."  
  
"Allah..." Quatre said, horrified. "Why would someone do such a thing?"  
  
"Duo said something about the 'perfect soldier' and how the scientist tried, and failed, to make Heero be the perfect soldier," Sally continued. "Then he said something about genetics. Heero's genetics."  
  
Now the boy looked confused. "That doesn't make any sense."  
  
"Lady Une hasn't told me everything," Sally said as they exited the hospital. "I suspect that it's confedential and it's too dangerous to speak of."  
  
"...so Heero can't pilot his Suit," the blond boy said with a sigh. "I hope that whatever is happening won't escalate until we're able to fight back, if we need to."  
  
Now the Chinese woman looked surprised. "Combat? Quatre--"  
  
Quatre smiled at her. "Only if we're needed again, I'm sure. We can't let whoever is causing this destroy what we've established here."  
  
Sally's surprise faded and she gave him a small smile. "I'm glad."  
  
  
  
  
Once again Heero found himself unable to sleep when the others did. Duo, he noticed, hadn't even bothered to get to a bed in the back and was now snoring lightly on the panel in front of him, luckily without hitting anything. For while, Heero had entertained himself by watching the stars in space and listening to the sleeping boy in the chair next to him. The silence unnerved the Japanese boy, but he ignored the uncomfortable feeling as Duo chose then to mutter something about a test.  
  
'Amusing.' Heero shook his head. 'Out of all the things he could have been dreaming of, a _test_ was the last thing one would think he would be dreaming about.'  
  
Distracted by the amusing thoughts, Heero almost didn't realize that someone had entered.   
  
...but he had.  
  
Spinning toward the door, he cursed his situation of being without a gun until he saw who it was. His eyes widened microscopically as he took in the sight of Relena standing there patiently, her hair tangled and disheveled but still...still what?  
  
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Heero turned slightly away. "Relena."  
  
For a moment, there was nothing...then, with much surprise, Heero felt a slightly smaller body press against him and two arms wrap around his middle. He froze, not knowing what to do and just stood there stiffly, waiting.  
  
Then...he heard it. A small sound, barely heard. His brow furrowed as he though of what it could be.  
  
Was Relena...?  
  
"Relena--?" He tried to turn toward her but the tightening of her arms around his waist stopped him, so he contented himself with staring out at the stars.  
  
For several minutes there was silence which was punctuated with Duo's breathing and the small sound that came from the young political figurehead that held tightly onto Heero. The boy could feel her face pressed into his upper-back, between his shoulder blades. He didn't relax and was tense all over as he thought of what to do.  
  
...but what could he say to a crying Relena Darlian?  
  
He was spared from thinking of something as the girl clinging to him spoke, "I'm sorry, Heero."  
  
This greatly confused the pilot. He didn't know how she did it, but somehow, she was the only one that could confuse him in such a way.  
  
"Relena..." he tried to say but it came out as a silent whisper.  
  
"I shouldn't be crying," the young politician said firmly into his back. "I am too old...too mature...and..." She stopped herself, then started again, "I've been worried about you. When I heard you and Duo were being hunted, I was worried but I wasn't afraid. I wasn't afraid until...Duo told me about what happened--"  
  
Heero stopped listening and gently pulled her arms from around him and stepped away, turning toward her. She watched him, frozen still with her head lowered as if she was ashamed of her tears. Heero watched her for a moment before lifting her chin with his left hand and, after a moment, wiped a tear from her face with his right.  
  
"Don't cry for me," he told her, his voice low and gentle as it tended to get whenever he spoke to her like this. "I'm nothing. I deserve no one's tears."  
  
Relena stared at him. "How can you say that? Heero...you aren't nothing--"  
  
"Nothing worth attention," he interrupted, sounding as though he was repeating something he had been told.   
  
"No," Relena said firmly, her eyes drying as she watched his. "Please don't say that, Heero."  
  
Heero merely looked at her and said, "I am not arguing about this," before turning away. As soon as his back was to her, he felt something slam into him from behind and was forced to keep his balance. He looked at his waist to see that her arms were there yet again.  
  
He tried to pry her arms away again but they refused to move. "Relena..." he said, a warning in his tone.  
  
In all truth, he was unnerved. He hadn't been close--_this_ close--to anyone before. So why was she doing this?  
  
"Please, Heero," she said, a near plea in her voice. "Please...let someone worry about you. Let someone be afraid for you. Let someone _cry_ for you--"  
  
Heero, his hands still one hers after he tried to take her arms away, closed his eyes. "I cannot allow anyone to cry for someone who does not know how to," he said, stopping himself from immediately pushing her away.  
  
"That shouldn't matter," Relena insisted and was surprised when she found that he somehow managed to loosen her arms to slip out of her embrace and face her, her hands still in his. He had done it so quickly that she almost didn't believe he did it.  
  
"It does to me," he said, his voice becoming cold and his eyes hard.  
  
Now Relena narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you push everyone close to you away? Every time you run off, you run from everyone only to return and do the same thing again and again. Why, Heero? Why do you act this way?"  
  
Heero said nothing for a moment. Just watched her, his expression never changing and his gaze never wavering. Then he released her hands and walked out of the cabin.  
  
"You know," a voice commented as the door closed, "you should know the answer to _that_ by now."  
  
Relena turned and saw Duo Maxwell wide awake with his head propped up on his palm as his elbow sat on the panel. "How long were you awake?" she asked tiredly as she sat in the seat Heero had sat in moments before.  
  
"Hm..." the American said, looking at the ceiling, "probably since you asked him to let someone cry for him."  
  
Relena said nothing and Duo watched her carefully. "Why were you crying?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.  
  
The girl smiled weakly. "It is really a silly reason...I'd prefer not to talk---"  
  
"Ah." The boy nodded as he sat up, confusing Relena. "Now I think I know why."  
  
"What?" Relena asked, watching him carefully.  
  
Duo leaned over to her and poked a finger at her each time he spoke a syllable. "You. Love. Him."  
  
Confusion faded and a smile crept onto Relena's face. "I didn't expect you to be so blunt about it," she said.   
  
The Gundam pilot gave her a wounded look before grinning. "I only like to do the 'Beat-Around-the-Bush' thing to annoy Heero." He scratched his head thoughtfully. "I dunno why but I think this is a good thing."  
  
"You're annoying him is a good thing?" questioned Relena with joking curiosity.  
  
"Eh?" Duo asked before blinking and then laughing. "No, no. I meant you and Heero."  
  
The girl sighed. "I'm afraid there isn't anything," she said.  
  
"What makes you sure?" the braided-haired boy asked curiously. "Listen, I don't know Heero too, too well, but I know him enough to know why he is how he is. Part of the reason I can guess about these kinds of things is because, in a way, we're kind of similiar."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Duo nodded. "Mm-hm. For one thing: we're both orphans with no idea of our real names, if we _had_ one to begin with. Another is that we were--along with the others--trained to carry out Operation Meteor." Duo leaned forward and looked seriously at the girl next to him. "Here's where the differences really come into play. While I was trained, I wasn't pushed to kill--Hell, I hardly cared at times! Death always seemed to be on my heels, anyway. I think, as a result, I wasn't affected too much by what I did. Heero, on the other hand...  
  
"Heero told me that he tried to kill himself so many times in the past because he didn't want to be a killer. I'm guessing he never wanted to be a part of the Operation; I didn't want to, either. It called for the deaths of thousands of innocent people on earth." The pilot leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and closing his eyes before continuing, "Anyway, Heero was supposed to be some perfect soldier but, even though he sometimes acted like it, he never could be or was one.  
  
"Now, I can't admit to knowing what they did to him to try to make him break away from his 'flaws'--because I have no idea--but I am almost sure that they pushed him too hard. It would explain his reluctance of being near people and why he's not very open with his feelings."  
  
Relena watched him for a moment before asking, "Is that why he runs? Why he always says he's nothing?"  
  
Duo frowned. "I've never heard him say that. Those doctors better be happy they're dead."  
  
Relena ignored him. "I should have known this already, you were right," she said, looking at her hands. "Perhaps I shouldn't try to push him into letting me care for him then--"  
  
"Bad idea," Duo interrupted. "You're not going to get him to react that way."  
  
"How else? He's like a turtle--"  
  
"Turtle?!" Duo laughed.  
  
"Yes," Relena said, ignoring his laughter, "a turtle. He won't come out of his shell if there is someone yelling for him to come out--"  
  
"Okay, one: Heero's _not_ a turtle." Duo snickered at the mental image. "Two: don't yell."  
  
"What?" the girl asked, obviously not following his train-of-thought.  
  
"Don't yell," the boy repeated. "Coax. If he _was_ a turtle, coaxing him with a soft voice and gentle movements would make him come out, right?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Relena replied.  
  
"Well, that's my advice," Duo said, putting his hands behind his head. "Heero probably needs someone to chase after him when he runs. No one's ever done that, 'cept for us."  
  
"'Us?'"  
  
"Yeah, us meaning you, me, and the other Gundam pilots. We wouldn't abandon Heero or let _him_ abandon us," the long-haired American said, "but since Wufei, Trowa, Quatre, and I aren't homosexual--I _hope_ not--I think you're best qualified to continue."  
  
Relena gave him an amused look. "So I'm best qualified?"  
  
"Simply put: yes," Duo answered with a smug look. "Though it is nice that _something_ is there between you two."  
  
The girl frowned. "I wouldn't call one of two people having feelings for the other while the other doesn't 'between.'"  
  
"Aw, he likes you," the boy said, waving a dismissive hand. "He just shows it in different ways. I mean, he wouldn't kill you, he tries to keep you from danger, he actually _chases after_ you when you're kidnapped, he says your name in a certain way, he actually allows you to _hug_ him, _and_ he gets confused--or _shows_ he is--with you."  
  
Relena gave him an odd look. "What does that last one have to do with this?"  
  
"Easy," Duo said, once again sounding smug. "He actually lets _you_ see _him_, know what I mean?"  
  
Relena thought about it for a while, then smiled. "Surprisingly, I do. I've known about all the things he's done for me...but I've always thought--or tried to tell myself--that it was for some other reason I couldn't understand."  
  
"Who ever said love was understandable?" Duo countered with a bit of a grin. Relena smiled at him slightly as she stood.   
  
"Thank you, Duo. I suppose I've needed a little insight on this," she said, nodding her head in a small bow. "It also eases my worries on certain matters."  
  
"You're very much welcome, Ms. Relena," the pilot responded cheerfully. He watched the girl head toward the door before asking, "What were you crying about?"  
  
Relena stopped a few steps from the door, turned, and gave him a sad smile. "I was wondering if Heero could make it through this ordeal without losing control and killing one of us." She paused. "Then, I wondered, 'if he did and it was me who was killed, would he know that I have always cared for him?'"  
  
Duo was silent, thinking.  
  
"Good night, Duo," Relena said, exiting the room.  
  
As the door swished shut, she noticed that a figure was propped up against the left corner of the small area. She watched, blue eyes showing sympathy, as Heero slept peacefully.  
  
She couldn't help but to walk over and sit next to him, studying him. His head was bowed and leaned slightly on the wall beside him, making his now-shorter hair fall slightly onto his forehead, still trying to reach his closed eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest, making it appear as though he was not even breathing.  
  
With a sad smile, she brushed a lock of his hair away from his face only to have it return to where it had been. He didn't even shift in his sleep as she did this.  
  
Feeling tired, she settled herself next to him, idly playing with his hair, which somehow always returned to its previous position. Still, he did not wake.  
  
'Sleep can do wonders for people,' she thought to herself, leaning against Heero as she began to feel her eyes close on their own; she hadn't realized how tired she was. 'If only we could enjoy life as much as we do sleep.'  
  
  
  
  
"How far are we?" Trowa asked as Duo exited the captain's cabin, stretching since he had been in the same seat for almost twenty-eight hours.  
  
"About half-an-hour," the American answered, stiflng a yawn.  
  
The other pilot nodded before looking to the left corner. "Should we wake them?"  
  
Duo, having another yawning fit, snapped his mouth closed and looked over to see Heero and Relena sleeping peacefully next to each other. Relena's head was on Heero's shoulder with his head against hers, and Relena right hand was on Heero's left leg, apparently having settled there as she fell asleep.   
  
"Oh..." the long-haired pilot said, grinning. "Well, if this isn't a Kodac moment, I don't know _what_ is!"  
  
Trowa watched as his friend dove over to where his duffle bag was, digging for a camera. "I don't know if you should, Duo," he said, watching as the American tossed several notebooks over his shoulder.  
  
As the other boy continued his search, Trowa stood and went to get one of the notebooks. There were all sort of drawings, doodles, and such on the covers of the one he retrieved, but when he opened it, he found that there were words inside. He rose a curious eyebrow and read a few lines.  
  
"Never figured you for a writer, Duo," he said as the other boy held up a camera in triumph.  
  
"Huh? What, Trow--Ah! Trowa! Don't read it!"  
  
Trowa shut the book and looked toward the panicking Duo. "I didn't," he lied, not wanting to upset him as he tossed the notebook over. "Be careful where you're flinging things."  
  
Duo, having caught the notebook, eyed him suspiciously before tucking it under his arm and heading toward the sleeping would-be couple. An evil grin lit his face as he rose the camera, just as Trowa walked over.  
  
_Click._  
  
"They'll thank me for this later," Duo said as he took a few more pictures.  
  
"I'd like to see you caught like that." Trowa gestured toward Heero and Relena. "Can we say 'blackmail?'"  
  
"Heh, you'll _never_ find me with _my_ girl," Duo said, pocketing the camera.  
  
"You have a girl?" Trowa asked dubiously.  
  
Duo snorted and stuck his nose into the air. "I'll decide if I'm insulted later," he said as he walked into the captain's cabin again, notebook under his arm and arms crossed.  
  
"Hm..." murmured Trowa with amusement as he looked at Heero and Relena once more before following the other pilot, who was once again sitting in the seat in front of the main consel. "Have the Preventers contacted us?"  
  
"Funny you should mention that," Duo said, pressing in commands and looking over to the vid-screen. "We've got mail. From Quatre."  
  
With a small beep, the image of the fourth Gundam pilot appeared on the screen.  
  
"Hello, Heero, Duo, and Trowa," the blond Arabian said in greetings. "I hope you guys get this message soon. I wanted to tell you guys that I am well and I should be able to see you all when you arrive at Headquarters."  
  
"That's nice to hear," Duo commented, sitting back with his hands behind his head.  
  
"Also," Quatre continued, "I know of all of what may be going on. I can explain it when you arrive. We have a lot to discuss and decide about in our situation, that much is obvious." The boy's eyes softened in a sad, sympathetic fashion. "I was also told about what happened to Heero. I don't know all the details, but I know you're unable to go into any form of combat, Heero. Lady Une and Sally Po have a room set up to try to help you break whatever hold this scientist has over you.  
  
"I know that you're probably not wanting to participate in any more experiments, Heero, but this is serious. We believe we know who it is that is controlling you, and if it is him, then this can become deadly.  
  
"Trowa, Duo, take care of yourselves and be sure to help Heero until you arrive. If the scientist was who I think it was, then Heero'll need support. The man who may be in charge of the Faction is very strong in the mind. Take care."  
  
With a beep, the message cut off and the vid-screen was blank.  
  
"That was...foreboding," Duo said, frowning as he lowered his hands.  
  
"But very much truthful," Trowa replied, crossing his arms. "How long do we have left?"  
  
"Less than fifteen minutes, why?" Trowa was already at the door when Duo turned toward him.  
  
"I'm going to wake up Heero," the former circus performer answered. "It would be best to let him know what to expect when we arrive."  
  
Duo nodded in understanding. "Wake Relena first, before Heero," he said with a grin. "Wouldn't want to embarrass them both...not yet, at least."  
  
Trowa nodded and exited the room.  
  
  
  
  
"Is everything set up?"  
  
"Just about; we just need the pilot."  
  
A low chuckle echoed throughout the room. "Excellent. The Soldier will not get away this time."  
  
  
  
  
Heero looked around at the assembled group that stood on the landing platform in front of the Preventers' Headquarters building. So far, all he saw was a wave of uniforms, all of them standing still--though some shifted their feet idly as they lost feeling. Glancing back, he saw Trowa and Duo standing next to the hostages and Taylor; neither of them had their weapons out.  
  
"Heero!" a voice cried cheerfully from the far left. The Japanese boy turned his head to see a blond boy running toward them, relief showing on his young face. Quatre.  
  
"Heero! Duo! Trowa!" the Arabian shouted before he reached the ragged group of pilots, captives, and one Preventer. "Thank Allah you are all all right!"  
  
"Hey, Quatre!" Duo shouted from his position, a wide grin on his rough face. "Long time, no see, Buddy!"  
  
"Too long!" Quatre said enthusiastically with a laugh. "Trowa!"  
  
The tall Gundam pilot looked over and nodded in salutation. Quatre smiled brightly.  
  
"Quatre," Heero said, interrupting, "am I to go straight to Lady Une?"  
  
The Arabian looked surprised at the question. "I...well, yes, but--"  
  
"Take me to her then," Heero said, looking away. "I don't wish to draw things out any longer."  
  
Quatre looked pained as he watched his friend before looking to the others. Duo pursed his lips, looking slightly thoughtful as he stared ahead, not looking toward them. Trowa's green eyes flickered from straight ahead, to Heero, to his side, and then back in front of him. This puzzled the blond boy, but he shook it off with a sigh.  
  
"All right," he finally said, nodding, "we'll head inside now."  
  
He nodded to the others, who then got their hostages and Tom to follow Quatre and Heero, who were heading toward the building. The group quietly made their way inside but stopped as Lady Une stood before them.  
  
"I'll take it from here, Quatre," she said, nodding to Heero. "Show the others where they will be staying, have them freshen up, and inform Trowa and Duo of everything."  
  
"Uh," Quatre said hesitantly as he looked to Heero, who stared determinedly ahead. "Of course, Lady Une."  
  
He relunctantly lead the others away, leaving Heero with Lady Une, who gave the Japanese boy an odd smile when they were out of sight.  
  
"It is good to see you again, Heero," she said.  
  
The boy didn't reply, knowing that this was not Lady Une.  
  
  
  
  
"Okay...that was creepy," Duo commented as Quatre lead them down a corridor that was brightly lit. The blond Arabian smiled a bit, though he felt dread creep into him.  
  
"Lady Une's always that way, remember?" he said, laughing uncomfortably.  
  
"She's never had that feelng about her, though," Trowa spoke up. "Just the way she looked at us made me uncomfortable."  
  
Now Quatre frowned.  
  
"Ah! We're just being paranoid!" Duo said loudly before turning to the politicians. "Okay, bye-bye now!"  
  
Wilms and Davis blinked.  
  
"Oh, yes," Quatre said, still feeling dread. "We've called for a hotel for you two. We thought we could at least make up for your kidnapping by making you as comfortable as possible before you return to your offices."  
  
"What about Ms. Relena?" Davis asked, concerned for the young woman's welfare.  
  
"Don't worry about me," Relena said, coming to the older man's side. "I'll be fine. I know Lady Une fairly well and she will not permit anything to happen to me."  
  
"Not to mention you've got a personal bodyguard," Duo commented from the front with a snicker.  
  
  
  
  
"Just who are you?" Heero questioned darkly, eyes narrowing at the woman posing as Lady Une. The woman grinned at him with something akin to distaste and satisfaction.   
  
"Oh, it doesn't matter who I am," she said, stepping forward. "What does matter is who you are--or rather..._what_ you are."  
  
Heero was still but was inwardly panicking about his situation. The scientist had caught up to him. He _was_ with the Faction, and he was using actors to get to him. Instict told him to run; his mind told him to stay still since there may be others around. For a moment, he decided to try the latter...  
  
...then attempted the former as the woman produced a gun from her sleeve.  
  
It was too late, however; he had waited too long. There were men around a corner in the corridor, and they were able to get a hold of him before he could escape. Twice he was punched in the face and once in the gut. It was enough to get him and keep him restrained. That didn't stop him, though. Even as the woman posing as Lady Une came over to them, he struggled to get released.  
  
The woman's gun was them aimed at the Japanese boy's head, forcing Heero to cease his vain attempts to become free. He glared at her, dark blue eyes flashing with rage. All of his progress of keeping ahead of the scientist was for nothing. He had been planning this whole time. Since L3, Heero thought to himself.  
  
"Tut, tut," the woman said with a grin, "it wouldn't do for me to have hurt you, would it, 01-X2-99?"  
  
Heero nearly growled at the number. It just went to prove that they thought he was just an experiment; another number among thousands of others that had been used. Used for what purpose though? Was there even a reason behind the madness of these experiments?  
  
A knee to his gut cause him to remain quiet, and he suppressed a wince as he felt the impact and lost his air.  
  
"Come now, 01-X2-99," the woman said lightly, "do behave. We don't want to make things more painful for you."  
  
Heero merely glared.  
  
The woman sighed. "Best get on with this."  
  
Heero warily watched, expecting her to do something. What he didn't expect was one of the men holding him jabbing a syringe into the back of his neck. The pain was horrible and one of the men was forced to cover his mouth, though all he did was gasp and let out a silent shout. Then, the needle was pulled out, and the substance that had been injected into his systems quickly took affect, blurring his vision and causing his legs to collaspe in on themselves.  
  
The men supported him, the one hand covering his mouth never leaving. He tried to shake off the affects, but it was futile. His thoughts were becoming muddled and everything was starting to dim.  
  
"Let's get a move on," the woman's voice said from Heero's right. "We don't want the Preventers to..."  
  
Everything faded and then came the darkness.  
  
  
  
  
"So...Quatre," Duo commented to his lighter-haired friend as he sat across from him in a chair. "You're okay, you're sure?"  
  
"Yes, Duo," Quatre answered, feeling his patience wearing thin. "It was a brief spell. Only a moment of dizziness. It'll happen sometimes since I'm still kind of weak."  
  
Duo watched him sip his tea, the cup and saucer jinking against each other in Quatre's unsteady, pale hands. "Right," he said drawlingly.  
  
It was then that the blond Arabian lost his patience and practically slammed the cup and saucer onto the table, startling the damp-haired boy sitting across from him. "I'm _fine_, Duo," Quatre said in aggitation.  
  
Duo held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. I'll ask no more."  
  
"_Thank_ you."   
  
The two of them sat quietly in their respectful seats, waiting. Quatre had had a dizzy-spell of sort while showing Duo his temporary home. After he had recovered, the blond had tried to reassure his friend he was fine. Duo, however, had insisted he sit down before he fell over and the other boy surrendered. Sure that Quatre wouldn't leave, Duo had then jumped into the shower, cleaned himself, gotten out, toweled his hair as good as he could, put the long strands into a messy braid, shaved his face, and then went to the kitchen for something to eat--ah, the advantages of having a pre-stocked 'fridge.  
  
All of this happened in less than then minutes.  
  
A sigh broke the silence and Quatre rubbed his head, looking pained.  
  
"Got a headache?" Duo asked curiously.  
  
"No." Quatre shook his head. "Not mine, at least."  
  
The other boy stared. "...okay..."  
  
Again the blond sighed. "You remember I'm empathetic. Someone I'm close to must have hit their head."  
  
Duo frowned. "That caused the dizziness?"  
  
Quatre paused. "Yes..."  
  
"Do you think we should tell someone?"  
  
The blond shook his head. "No...I don't think so," he said. "If I feel anything else, we'll tell someone, but for now I'm fine and there's no reason to worry others."  
  
"Sure," Duo agreed, leaning back in his seat. "Whatever you think is best. Trowa should be here in a minute anyway."  
  
"Oh, right," Quatre said lightly in slight surprise. "I'd forgotten that I needed to tell you two about everything."  
  
"You think Lady Une's gonna tell Heero about everything?" The darker-haired pilot looked upward at the ceiling. "Ya know, I'm getting real worried about him."  
  
"Why so?" Quatre asked, lifting his tea with now-steady hands.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing. Just..." Duo paused. "Just something someone told me. It made me really think of things differently."  
  
Quatre nodded. "I know what you mean," he said truthfully before taking a sip of the tea. "The words of just one person can change the outlook of a situation, making it seem as of it were a completely different perspective from that of which they saw from before."  
  
"The same with actions," a voice spoke up, gaining the two's attention. "The assassination of Heero Yuy so long ago changed the entire course of time. One fatal bullet created the felt-need for revenge and war, the building of the Gundams, the designs of Operation Meteor. It completely changed the perople's Idea of how to achieve peace."  
  
Quatre nodded at Trowa, who had come close to the others as he spoke. "A domino effect."  
  
Duo sighed. "That's depressing."  
  
Trowa looked to him curiously. "How so?"  
  
"Well, what you're saying to me is: watch what you do, the Apocalypse can come if you do just _one_ thing wrong," the long-haired teen said, looking at the ceiling once more.  
  
"Hm," Trowa murmured, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "You are lucky that you have yet to do such a thing. I feel sorry for Heero for that reason."  
  
"Everything is the result of someone's decision," Quatre put in. "None of us would be here otherwise."  
  
Duo thought on it. "You're right," he said before blinking and looking at the Arabian. "All right then...what's your time-altering news?"  
  
"Nothing that important, I hope," the blond said with a frown, placing his tea back onto the table. "Lady Une and I have come to the conclusion that yes, the Faction had the man who caused me to pass-out in the hanger. His name was Sloh. Major Willian Sloh who was in command of the Retrieval Operation that involved us. I'm not sure why he would betray everyone, but it must have something to do with all of this Perfect Soldier nonsense--"  
  
Duo snorted.  
  
"--Lady Une told me that after I was hospitalized, Sloh had only done just one last thing before he left," Quatre continued, looking at his drink. "He resigned his position and quit the Preventers."  
  
"Guilty conscience?" Trowa suggested.  
  
"No," the blond answered, "he knew I knew who he was and what he looked like, so he knew that he would be a wanted man--"  
  
"Then why resign?" Duo asked curiously. "I mean, why bother?"  
  
"To show that he denounces what the Preventers stand for, to announce that his alliegence is with another, to let everyone know how he will willingly accept his losses to gain another goal." Trowa looked to Duo. "Take your pick."  
  
"Or," Quatre said, looking up, "he's proving he is brave enough to openly turn against his once-allies and now-enemies. There are people who would never openly say, 'I've chosen to stab you in the back by joining your enemy.'"  
  
"People tend to die when they do that," Duo mused.  
  
"A slap in the face?" Trowa asked, ignoring the American teenager's comments.  
  
The blond Arabian sighed. "That is what I believe, but it might not be fact. It worries me. If it was a 'slap in the face' then this Faction must be growing in power. They may even be ready to take on their enemies soon."  
  
"That's not good," Duo commented with a frown.  
  
"The other problem is that they could have outside support," Quatre continued, "from former members of Oz, White Fang, and others."  
  
"That will not be good for the Preventers," Trowa murmured, watching the table before him.  
  
"It won't be good for anyone if it happens," Duo put in seriously as the three young men thought on the possible events of the future, which just may include yet another battle to be fought. "So when are we going to see the Mobile Suits?"  
  
Quatre gave his friend a thin smile. "We could head over there now, if you really want."  
  
Duo stood and stretched as Quatre also stood and Trowa wandered over to the door, "Who said anything about want?"   
  
  
  
  


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_Author's Notes:_ Well, that's all for now. I wish I had more to put for this chapter, but what I have in mind would make this chapter WAY too big to read! ^.^" I always said I love long fics, but honestly, that would be getting a slight bit silly! ^.^ Anyhow, thanks to all who bother to read this thing. ^.^" I promise that it gets good. In fact, I'm warning you now...you WILL need tissues near the end of this thing. I'm not joking. Well...maybe you won't cry, but I came close to it when I wrote the scene. *shrugs* Oh, well...that won't be for another few chapters...three at the most, I think. ^.^" *scratches head* Is that part near the end? I forget...^.^" Oh, well, it doesn't really matter. Thanks for reading! ^.^" Ja ne~! ^.~! 


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